The Adventures of Claire Hawkins
by Pischaw
Summary: A journey of a girl trying to survive in a world full of half naked blue giants, red headed psychopaths and a dork named Alibaba.
1. Hello

Chapter one: Hello

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><p>I was lost.<p>

I Claire Hawkins, was utterly lost. I took a deep breath and tried not to panic. It's not like I wandered off that far from the city. I just took a short walk.

I began to pace. Glancing once again at my cellphone, I wished for the umpteenth time that I had service. That way I could use google maps and be on my way back to the hotel. But no, seeing that I'm in a foreign land, I'm roaming and using the internet would cost me a lot of money. Dad would kill me if my phone bill got over 50 pounds again. Of course I could always tell him that it was an emergency. That's definitely the excuse I'd use if I had service, which I still don't have damn it.

Why did I have to follow that stupid bird?! Granted it was glowing and I was curious. It wasn't everyday that you see a glowing bird. I wanted to get a good look at it and followed it out of the city. Before I knew it, I was hopelessly lost.

Once again I took a deep breath and took off my sunglasses to rub my eyes. I will not cry. Absolutely not.

But as much as I wanted to, the waterworks decided to let loose. I just want to get back to the hotel, explore Jerusalem with a tour guide as planned and then go hiking with my family before we have to return to London.

I think I was crying for 20 minutes until I was calm enough to think rationally.

First thing first, is to get out of the sun and into the shade. I don't want to get sunburnt after all. Donning my sunglasses back on, I stood up from my crouched position -which I did not remember getting into- and looked around. I spotted a tree and some shrubs. I walked towards them.

Second: water. Do I have enough water? I checked my backpack, which -thank goodness- I brought with me. Usually I prefer to walk around with a purse, but seeing as my family and I were planning to hike after lunch, I brought a backpack with me. It's small, only giving me enough space to put the essentials in there. Like a water bottle which is almost empty, an umbrella incase it rains, my wallet and passport, along with my earphones, useless cellphone and a hoodie. It gets rather chilly at night. Shoot I forgot sunscreen.

Great, I can already feel my skin peeling.

What do I need to check next? Food? Well I think I can survive a day without it if I ration my water well.

I think...

I stayed under the shade for about two hours, thinking about what will happen if I don't get out of this place where the sun shines so brightly and I'm all alone. Will I die from starvation? Dehydration? What if those birds decided that I look like gourmet food. What if the ants thought that I should become their new home when I sleep tonight?

My thoughts were getting darker and weirder with each idea to the point where I would have started crying once again. Where it not for the voices I heard coming closer, I would have too. I wiped my face and made sure I looked presentable before heading to where the sound of a conversation came from.

It felt like the voices where getting more distant and in a panic I ran towards the sound of laughter before it could disapear entirely. Not far from me, I spotted a girl with fiery red hair and a boy with long braided blue hair.

How funky.

"Excuse me," I called out whilst stumbling out of the bushes. The two paused in their chat and looked at me. "Hi! I'm kind of lost and was wondering if you can point me to where Jerusalem is?"

The girl blinked and looked confusedly at the younger boy. Maybe I spoke too fast? I wish I knew a bit of their language, even just a little. It would make things a lot easier. "Well... Umm... Are you two going towards the city?" I asked slowly. I hope that they know a bit of English. There were a lot of tourists who visit the holy land after all.

"You don't belong here, miss."

That was the boy speaking. Oh he does know English! Perfect!

The girl looked surprised at the boy before her gaze turned to regard me apathetically once again. I pushed my sunglasses up on my head and looked into the boys eyes. They were a vivid blue. "Why yes, you see I'm a tourist and I got lost," I answered, bending my back to look directly into his dark eyes. Odd, I could have sworn they were blue before.

He blinked. "That's not what I meant. I mean that you don't belong in this world."

Is this boy trying to pick me up? Call me an angel who fell from Heaven afterwards? "Right. So are you guys headed to the city?" I ignored the previous statement.

After an intense stare, the boy nodded excitedly. "Yes! We're headed towards Balbadd!"

Balbadd? That sounds familiar for some reason. "Do you mind if I go with you?" I asked him with a smile. This Balbadd must be a big town or city if I remember it. Afterall my knowledge in geography was limited to the big cities. And if it's tingling my memories then I must have heard of it from somewhere. Cities meant internet café and that meant Google. If they didn't have one, I'll ask someone who can speak English if there's a bus headed towards Jerusalem instead. After I arrive back there, I can ask someone again where the hotel is or go find the nearest Starbucks and from then on I will tell my adventure to my parents and younger brother and they'll all laugh and call me an idiot.

He looked at his companion and they said something to each other. I'm guessing he's asking if I can tag along with them. "Sure Miss! I'm Aladin and this is Morgiana." He gestured towards the girl Morgiana who bowed in response. I didn't know they bowed here to introduce themselves. I always thought it was an asian thing. Huh, the more you know.

"Thanks! I'm Claire." For some reason I feel like I should know these two from somewhere, but I just couldn't wrap my mind around it.

"Miss Claire, where are you from? The rukh around you are behaving weirdly."

I smiled at Aladin. I have no idea what he meant by rukh but he's such an adorable boy. "I'm from England."

"England...?"

"Yes. I'm only on vacation here. I'll be back there in three days." We didn't speak after that. He just "hmmed" at me while tapping his chin thoughtfully. He and Morgiana however, continued to talk and I listened. I think they were talking about someone. Alibaba or something. That name really sounded familiar. Aladin's specially, but I blame Disney for that. After a while, I realised that the reason why I heard about Alibaba and Morgiana was because they were part of the story from the Arabian Nights.

I stopped. Alibaba, Aladin and Morgiana. Yellow, blue and red. A dungeon capturer, Magi and Fanalis. The memories were starting to return now. I only read up to volume three of the manga, but if I remember correctly, those were the names of the main characters. My friend who is an avid fan -and the person who lent me the three volumes to read for the plane ride- kept mentioning Balbadd when I was packing for the trip to Jerusalem. She was talking and talking and I didn't have the heart to tell her to shut up because she was so passionate about the story. She said she'll give me the other volumes once I return.

"Is something the matter?" asked Aladin.

"Umm... No, everything's fine," I told him. Monique is going to be incredibly jealous when I come back and tell her that I met some really awesome cosplayers, who may or may not be internet famous. After all those wigs look real -it must be high quality- or it's their real hair and they had an incredible dye job. If it was, I need to ask Aladin who their hair stylist is. I've always wanted to get my boring auburn hair dyed, I just didn't trust anyone with my hair. I wonder what colour would suit me? Pastel blue or pink would look cool.

Aladin and Morgiana were probably on their way to meet up with their Alibaba to complete the cosplay group. I glanced towards Morgianas' ankles and noticed that she was not wearing any shoes and that they were a bit scarred. Wow, they didn't leave out any details at all. They must have a very talented make-up artist.

Yep, definitely internet famous.

_I should ask for their pictures once they meet up with their Alibaba too. _I was very deep in my thoughts indeed if I hadn't noticed the man in front of me. I bumped into him and an apology automatically escaped my lips. I looked up to gaze at warm brown eyes. Blinking away my blush at the dazzling smile he sent me, my eyes wandered towards the muscled arm that's holding me balanced. _Wow, he's really sculpte-_

_OH MY FUCKING GOD THIS GUY'S NAKED._

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><p>I sat besides Morgiana, my head bowed down and staring intensely into the fire that Aladin created whilst the exhibitionist put on some of the young boys' clothes. He came out of the shrubbery and grinned at us, flicking some wayward purple hair out of his face.<em> Really? Purple?<em>

The clothes did not fit the man at all, in fact it did not even cover any of him. He might as well wear hot pants and a sleeveless bolero. At least those won't make him look like an overgrown baby. _One with the body of an Adonis..._

The realisation that I was thinking about the pervert almost made me jump up from my seat. _Bad Claire! Don't think about those damned abs._ Ugh, I can feel myself blushing once again.

I tuned out everyone while I tried my best to hide the flush on my face. Shifting in my seat, I poked the fire with a stick that was resting near me. They were talking about something and since I couldn't understand what they were saying, I grew bored rather quickly and spaced out. I didn't notice Morgiana stand up and sniff the air as a breeze passed our circle. It was a few seconds later that I realised she and Aladin had ran away from the camp we created, leaving me with the man.

I glanced at him and he sent me one of those smiles that any Hollywood celebrity would die to have. I stood up abruptly and ran after the two. I don't want to be alone with that guy! I don't even know his name and after what happened, I haven't got the courage to ask him. He probably introduced himself, but I have no idea what he's saying until I can ask Aladin.

Seeing Aladin and Morgiana standing on the edge of a cliff, I slowed my run. No need to bump into them and accidentally push someone to their death. I looked over Aladins head to marvel at the majestic city and the sea. It was truly a beautiful sight.

Taking a few steps back, I dropped my backpack and rummaged for my phone. After I found it I took two pictures, one with Aladin and Morgianas' backs facing me and the other showing the environment only. I hope they don't mind me taking their pictures, but they looked amazing with their cosplay costumes and the background, I couldn't resist.

Satisfied with the quality and perspective of the photos, I tucked my phone back inside my backpack. I'll put them on instagram and facebook later once I get some wi-fi.

The man caught up with us and said something to me. I blinked and looked at Aladin. The little guy shrugged and translated. "He's asking about the device you used," He sounded unsure of what he was saying. "The square thing."

I blinked again. "Do you mean my phone?" Aladin muttered something. I glanced at the man. He was giving me a rather intense stare. Creep.

My attention went back to Aladin who tugged my arm shyly. "Phone?" he asked.

My eyebrows scrunched in confusion until I came to the realization.

I took out my cellphone once more and showed it to him. He was probably asking what brand my phone was, but couldn't because he didn't know how to translate it in english. "It's a Samsung Galaxy." They all surrounded the device like they've never seen one before. Maybe they're more of an iPhone fan? I know some real fanatics who looked at me like I've grown a second head when I told them that I did not own an iPhone. I had two of them a year ago, but sadly they both broke due to my clumsiness. Dad said that if I wanted a cellphone, I'm getting one that doesn't break so easily, thus I got myself a Samsung. He wanted to give me a Nokia, which I refused.

After a second or two of staring, I put my phone back inside my backpack. It's not like they'd ask what it's for since it's obviously that: a phone. And who doesn't know about smartphones nowadays anyway.

"Are we going to go down or not?" I asked Aladin. I would have just walked away if I knew where to go -because to be honest- their stares were making me very uncomfortable. I waited for them to lead the way instead. There's only one way that I will end up in the city without getting lost, and that is if I jumped off the cliff.

I rather fancy myself alive though, so no jumping off cliffs for me.

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><p>It took us around half an hour to reach the city, and during that time I asked Aladin who the sex god was. I admit that I am rather attracted to him. He <em>is<em> really hot and I blame my teenaged hormones rampaging inside my body. Of course I didn't mention the "sex god" part when I asked him. That would be very emberassing and I just met the boy.

As it turned out the man was called Sin. I wondered if that was his pornstar name, because let's be serious here, no parent in their right mind would name their child Sin.

Apparently, he's been robbed clean when he was napping after a tiring night. _Really now. A tiring night, huh._ Like I'll believe that. I highly doubt that he was in such a deep sleep that he did not feel anyone taking off his clothes. And no matter how many times he flashes me that charming smile of his, I'm not letting my eyes off of him. I don't trust this guy. He suddenly comes out of the bushes butt naked and approaches two defenseless children. No way in hell am I trusting him.

I decided to accompany Aladin and Morgiana to their hangout "Balbadd" and make sure that this weirdo of a man won't try anything to them. I fingered my pepperspray in my shorts' pocket. Being the daughter of a karate master helps too. Mum thought me self-defense since I was very young. She had been a victim of a very unfortunate event that I'd rather not think about when she was just a teenager. I know I'm not stronger than Sin -I've seen his muscles afterall- and there's a chance that I'll get hurt in the process, but the power of surprise and ten years of self-defense training is on my side.

I'll fucking kick him in the nuts if he glances at Morgiana and Aladin the wrong way.

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><p>Authors Note: Hello! This is my first fanfic since I was... 15. So no, this is not my very first one. Fire away with the reviews! I'd like to hear some critics! English is not my mother language, but I believe that working in an English company has made me better at it! If you see any grammar error, please notify me of it.<p>

This fanfic is a practice in creating characters that are believable. Please tell me if Claire starts becoming too much of a Sue.

Thank you,

Love P

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><p>Edit 08.01.14: Changed some sentences and corrected grammar mistakes.<p>

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><p>Disclaimer: I do not own Magi<p> 


	2. Balbadd

Chapter 02: Balbadd

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><p>This place was very weird.<p>

VERY weird.

It's like I landed in a world where the power of electricity has never been reaped before. I haven't seen a single vehicle on the road and I was walking around for almost an hour now. Everywhere I turned, I saw people using some poor animal to pull a cart with baskets, crates or sacks. There were no cars, busses or even a bike!

Honestly, I don't know if this was one of those places that prefered not to use any technology or if I landed myself in a convention of some-sort. _Maybe this is the equivalent of a renaissance faire?_ It would explain a lot, actually. Why else would everyone dress around as if they're from _that_ era; the one with the Ottoman Empire or was it another Empire?

I'm not sure.

I was never any good with history.

But a faire was the only explanation. Granted, this was probably the largest one I've ever set foot on and where everyone was really into their roles and detailed costumes, it's absolutely amazing. Some even wore nothing but rags to roleplay as beggars! That's so very hardcore of them. But I worry that they're pulling the look off a little too well, a lot of them looked malnourished.

Also, I have never in my life seen so many baggy pants before. It's like I've been thrown back into the eighties! Except it's less colourful. Most of the guys wear them in different shades of brown.

_50 shades of brown._ I let out a silent snort at the thought, earning several odd looks from the people around us. I shrugged their gazes off. I've gotten used to the stares of the people the moment I stepped foot in the city. I'm just glad that I'm not the only one garnering attention.

Aladin, Morgiana, Sin and I stuck out like a sore thumb. Me with my grey tank top, shorts, converse and backpack, while the reason the other three looked out of place was because of their very colourful hair. People didn't even so much as blink when they saw Sin in his half naked glory until they saw his incredibly long purple hair! Sure, some raised their eyebrows, but other than that, no reactions at all!

A man walked by with a basket on his shoulder and I tried not to barf at the stench coming from him. Most of the odor came from the basket, I don't know what's inside it and frankly that kind of smell should be illegal. _Something is definitely rotting inside that thing_. I watched the man dump fishes on the table of a vendor. Eww._  
><em>

I felt a tap on my shoulder and looked at the person who took me away from my observation. It was Morgiana. She said something to me in which I answered with a shrug. She repeated her words again, albeit a lot more slowly than before. The only thing that I understood was "Aladin". I'm not sure why she's asking me about the little boy. I haven't seen him since...

Oh. I get it.

It seems that we lost the tiny boy, and only person who can understand me, in the crowd.

Morgiana nodded her head -to signify that she understood the hopeless look in my eyes- and began to sniff the surrounding like a dog. Her face scrunched slightly in distaste at the odor of the place, but she continued smelling the air.

I couldn't help but smile. I have no idea why she was acting like a dog, it's not like the human sense of smell is on par with that of the animal, but I find the sight to be endearing and hilarious at the same time. I followed her as she dodged the crowd of people walking around the market place and ignored those who were yelling out their products and prices to garner the attention of passerbys. While I bumped into a few people and made sure to stay away from anything fishy, I couldn't help but wonder where Sin went. Was he looking for Aladin too or did he ditch us?

It didn't take long to find the young boy. He made quite a spectacle, it seem. A vendor was yelling at him, waving chubby arms around and spewing spittle everywhere. Gross. _I wonder why he's angry at Aladin._ My eyes wandered to the crowd that gathered around the hysterical merchant and sheepish young boy. They were all watching with interest, some were whispering to each other while others grew bored and went to do what ever it was that they were supposed to be doing before they got distracted by the commotion.

I saw Sin at the other side of the crowd, trying to see what was happening. He saw me and caught my eye. I gave him a nod and let my gaze wander once again.

Out of the corner of my eyes, Morgiana tensed and a second later I heard a cry of pain. My attention instantly returned to Aladin and I felt my anger rise. How dare that fat guy manhandle a little boy like that! Aladin was clutching the vendors' arm who was holding his braid and swinging it around, tugging the little boy along. In the back of my mind, I couldn't help but note that it was his real hair after all.

Morgiana walked towards the man and Aladin, her anger was obvious in her body language and deadly gaze. She took a hold of the man's arm and spoke to him, her voice calm. The guy tried to tug himself free, but Morgiana didn't relent until he let go of Aladins' hair. That girl had a grip.

I moved to help the boy up who had fallen to the ground by the lack of gravity pulling him up. Gently I pushed away strands of hair from his eyes. "Are you alright?" I asked.

He nodded and shifted his turban to make himself look presentable, wincing slightly as the clothe brushed a sore spot.

"What happened?" I pressed on.

"I was hungry and ate some apples," he said with a bashful smile on his face. "and I didn't have any money to pay him."

My lips twitched in a grimace and I pinched his cheeks out of instinct. "Thievery is not good, Aladin!"

"I was going to pay him, but he said that he doesn't take any coppers anymore. Only paper money," he mumbled through strained cheeks. Hastily, I let go of his face and apologized. How odd. I usually punish my little brother in this fashion when he did something incredibly stupid. I guess Aladin has this presence around him that screams "I'm an adorable kid and a perfect little brother" that my reflexes got a hold of me.

Patting his head gently -whilst minding to avoid the spot that made him wince earlier- and earning a small grin in return, I glanced over to Morgiana who was staring down two bulky men standing on each side of the vendor. They seem like the bodyguards.

I better step in before she gets hurt. I looked at Aladin and asked, "How much were the apples?"

A thoughtful expression crossed his face and seconds later he began mumbling whilst counting his fingers. "One piece is usually thirty copper coins," He said. "And I had ten... I think."

What.

_Ten? _A little boy ate _ten_ apples in the span of mere minutes, when I wasn't looking. I'm sure I wasn't deep in thought that I was spacing out for more than a minute or two. I glanced at his flat uncovered stomach. _Where does he put all that food?_

I sighed. "Can you ask the vendor how much he needs?" I rummaged through my backpack for my wallet and found it underneath my umbrella. Inside I found fifty Israeli Shekel and British Pounds, along with some coins I didn't bother counting. I hope that these were enough.

"He said he needs 100 Huang."

I blinked at Aladin. I have never heard of huang before. The name also sounded suspiciously like chinese. I showed the man the israeli shekel, hoping that he'll take the money anyway. After all I am still in the same land, surely the currency wouldn't change because I'm in a different part of the city or something. Maybe Huang is the "currency" they use at the faire and one had to exchange real money at some booth to buy anything here?

I felt a gust of wind pass me and the money disappeared from my fingers. The vendor was examining it thoroughly, holding it to the sun, rubbing the paper between his fingers and practically gushing over it. What the hell. "He said he's never seen paper with such a colour and detailed illustrations before," Aladin translated upon seeing my confused look.

"Aha. He'll take it then?"

Aladin talked to the man some more and he received a bag of apples in return. The young boy gave me the fruits with a grin. "Did you just trade my money for a bunch of apples?" I could feel my eyes twitching. I'm positive that I would have gotten some change. At the boys' nod, I refrained myself from gritting my teeth and pinching his cheeks until they've turned red like a baboons arse. "Why?"

"Well, apples are really delicious!" was his enthusiastic answer. "And they're very expensive and hard to come by, so I think it was a really great deal!"

Fantastic.

My bus money got spent for some red fruits. Fruits that were almost rotting too. Honestly, it's like you couldn't buy apples at the closest super market. They're really going too far with trying to keep everything as realistic as possible in this faire, but at the same time I have to applaud them for their accuracy.

"Are you mad, miss?"

I glanced at Aladins' blue eyes and groaned inwardly. He looked like a kicked puppy. One that_ I_ kicked. "No."

The crowd of onlookers began to disperse once they realised that the problem has been solved. Sin finally decided to grace us with his half naked glory and pointed towards a large luxurious building in the distant. I narrowed my eyes at him and muttered to Aladin, "Why are you following this weirdo around?"

"I don't know."

Taking a deep breath and tucking my hands inside my shorts' pockets, I gave the little boy a smile. "Come again?"

Aladin shifted and rubbed his cheeks unconsiously, no doubt still feeling a sting from when I scolded him. "Ah... ummm. Look!"

My eyes wandered to the direction he was pointing at. It was at a random building with graffiti on it.

I stopped and stared.

Not at the building, which looked like it would fall over any minute now, I could care less about it. What caught my eyes was a corner where a mother and her children were begging. She was probably a beauty in her youth, but now, nothing was left on her but hollow eyes on the verge of cursing the world, sunken skin and bones. Her children had her same pale complexion, bony body and gaze. There was no way that these people were acting. Renaissance faire or not, no one would look at the world with such pitiful eyes or force children to starve.

My eyes met the gaze of the young girl besides her mother. I bit my lower lip. Dad always told me to never to make eye contact with beggars. Once you did, you can't help but show pity. The money that the kind people give them were often wasted on drugs and used for other illegal activities, is what my father told me as a child. My father who's a policeman often came across such people. He tried to help whenever he can, it was his job afterall, but there were those who refused to be helped and let themselves sink deeper into their addiction.

The sack of apples that I could not put in my backpack felt heavy in my hand. Taking a deep breath, I walked towards the family and kneeled before the woman. Her eyes grew wary but hopeful at once. I smiled at her and offered the sack. "Here. You need them more than I do." I opened it to show the fruits. Her lips trembled and her tired gaze met mine, searching my eyes for any hint of trickery. She took an apple and gave it to her two children and another for herself. Tears were flowing down her eyes as she ate.

I stood up and walked towards the others who were waiting for me. Aladin and Morgiana gave me a smile whilst Sin gave a nod of acknowledgement and approval. Embarrassed, I walked pass them, trying hard to hide the smile on my face. Father said that its better to share food instead of tossing money. And I have to agree with him.

Helping those in need is a great feeling.

I stopped and looked back. I put my hands on my hips and glared at the other three to hurry up. After all, I have no idea where I was supposed to go.

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><p>We were standing in front of a luxurious building and I began to fidget. "Aladin, are you sure you should be following someone who you just met a few hours ago inside a random -albeit high class- building?"<p>

Aladin blinked big dark blue eyes at me. "But you also just met us and yet you're still with us," The boy had point. Why exactly am I still following them around? Aside from making sure that he and Morgiana were safe from the shady purple haired man, I have no idea what to do. Was it because he was the only one I could talk to right now? "Besides, Sin said that this is the safest place in Balbadd and that he'll pay for our stay!"

I blinked.

Wait.

Balbadd is not a code name for their hang out but the name of the faire?

Okay... I can roll with that.

But I'm not comfortable being in the same building as Sin. He's too suspicious. However I guess I have no choice. After all, _someone_ decided it was a great idea to buy apples with my money. I would have probably been able to stay at a youth hostel for a night with the change, but I guess I should stop complaining and just suck it up. How bad can Sin get if he's willing to pay for our rooms anyway.

I raised my eyebrows and watched as the guards nearby stopped the half naked man from stepping another foot inside the building. I grabbed Aladin and Morgiana by their shoulders. "Let's find a youth hostel", I said dryly.

I was about to drag the two outside until someone said something in the commotion that made everyone silent. Sin was mentioned in the sentence and suddenly all the guards backed off from the purple haired man.

Sin greeted two other guys with a huge smile on his face. I gaped at the two men who came out of the shadows. One had the freckled face of a young man with incredibly white hair and a robe on, while the other was a _giant _with red hair and apathetic eyes wearing armor that looked like it belonged to a gladiator.

Discreetly, my eyes wandered to Morgiana. She looked somewhat surprised at the appearance of the red headed man. I couldn't tell with her since I barely know her. Hell, I'm not even sure what her and Aladins' real names were! I just decided to go with the flow when they introduced themselves as the characters from the manga called Magi.

I only met them a few hours ago after all.

Well, meeting new people was an adventure too... plus it's not like a cute little kid like Aladin could harm a fly and Morgiana seemed kind of shy and a bit socially awkward, which is really cute too.

It's Sin I have a problem with. I glared at the man and his companions and noticed something. _Instead of a faire, am I in an anime convention instead?_ I wondered while looking at the colourful mop of hair surrounding me. But that does not explain why everyone else was wearing costumes too, unless it's a joint convention?

Do such things even exist? I need to ask Monique once I return to London.

Sighing in defeat, I rubbed my temples. I'm starting to have a headache. I'll try and see if I can find a phone tomorrow and if I can get their wi-fi password. This was most likely a five star hotel, if the interior was anything to judge by, and most of the time hotels such as these have free wi-fi.

Aladin grabbed my hands and began pulling me along. He let go once I nodded at him to show that I wasn't spacing out anymore. It seems that our paths split. Sin and his buddies went to terrorize other people while a young lady showed us to our room.

The room was large and had three beds filled to the brim with decorative pillows, a lot of tapestries with intricate patterns hang on one side of the wall and a huge glassless window overlooked the whole city.

She was about to close the door when I opened my mouth at the same time as Aladin. The lady looked confused and the young boy stifled a giggle. I hid a smile. Aladin glanced at me, telling me to ask my question first. What a little gentleman.

I turned to the lady "Do you speak English, miss?"

My hopeful gaze vanished at her blank stare.

I groaned.

When will I meet someone who can speak English again? I flopped on one of the beds, kicked off my shoes and shrugged my backpack while I burried my face on the numerous pillows the hotel provided and finally, I cacooned myself with the blanket. I could feel the others staring at me, but I didn't care. I was incredibly tired.

Tired of walking, of people staring and tired of not understanding a word of what was being said. I hate not knowing anything!

I closed my eyes. I'll search for a phone tomorrow.

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><p>Authors Note: Thank you very much for all the reviews on the previous chapter. It really motivated me to write faster!<p>

Here we see that Claire has a habit of pinching the cheeks of naughty children! Poor Aladin!

Also, Jafar and Masrur are introduced.

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><p>Disclaimer: I do not own Magi. Only Claire.<p>

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><p>EDIT<p>

14.01.14: Corrected Sinbad into "Sin". Thanks a lot to Kougari for pointing this out.

24.01.12: Corrected some grammar and spelling errors. Nothing huge.


	3. Ugo

Chapter 03: Ugo

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><p>"There's something wrong with that girl."<p>

Ja'far glanced up from the wine he was pouring into a copper glass. "Which one?" He recalled that there were two girls who came with Sin in the hotel. A brunette with the oddest clothes he had ever seen, which was saying something since he had travelled far and wide in his youth, and a Fanalis with a beige coloured dress.

There was nothing weird with the two girls at first glance, but he knew that Sin couldn't have meant the Fanalis child. That only left the girl with clothes as revealing as those from the pleasure houses.

She seems normal enough. Brown hair that reached past her shoulders, pale skin that could rival his own and a face that was pleasant to look at. The girl seemed to come from a rich family or could be a noble herself. It was only a short glance, but as a former assassin he had the ability to take in even the smallest details from a person. One example would be her hands, it seems that they had never seen a day of labour before. Another would be the shiny and healthy hair that was a mess due to the journey it took to arrive at the hotel. Even if the clothes were very revealing, he must admit that it must have cost a fortune to hire a skilled seamstress that could create a double seam in perfect distance and symmetry from each other.

He handed the wine to Sin who took it gladly and began to drink like a fish out of water. "She doesn't speak our language."

Ja'far stilled his movements to glance incredulously at the purple haired man. "Surely you can't be serious." Never in his life had he heard anyone speak anything but the common tongue or the language of the dungeons. Sin wouldn't mistake Torran for another language. The man spent almost half of his life reading scriptures about the Torran Nation which were written in their own dead language.

"I am. While traveling with them, she only spoke to Aladin. It was not a dialect nor was it the language of the dungeons that they spoke with."

Ja'far could tell that the man's mind was running a mile a minute puzzling over who the brunnette was, where she came from and how she could be of use to him. Because contrary to popular belief, Sin was not an idiot, however often he acts like one. No, this man was cunning and even manipulative to some degree.

How else can one rule a country without dirtying their own hands.

"Perhaps she is from beyond the Dark Continent?" No one knew what was beyond the continent, not even the Fanalis. No ship dared to sail past the unknown waters, to face creatures that has never been seen before.

The taller man did not answer, but made a noise that indicated he was thinking. Ja'far glanced at the man's dark eyes and knew instantly what was going through his brain. He had the same shine in his eyes when he took him the other generals like Yamuraiha and Sharrkan.

"Sinbad, do you mean to take her back to Sindria?" Of course he'd bring her back even if he had to use force, that was a stupid question to ask. Someone who spoke a different language was something the man would like to keep for himself until he could satisfy his curiosity and make sure she was not a danger to their beloved home. Sin wouldn't want _them_ to get their hands on her and the best way to do that was to bring her to their island country.

"Yes", With that simple answer, the man stood up from his chair and headed for the door. Ja'far followed suit and nodded at Masrur who stood guard at the other side of the room. Ja'far had no doubt that the red head heard everything that was said on the other side of the wall. Incredible hearing was one of the perks of being a Fanalis. "And, one more thing. Don't forget that you shouldn't call me Sinbad alright? After all, they don't know who I really am."

* * *

><p>I was not a happy camper. I woke up with the largest headache in history and a bedhead that a bird wouldn't even consider to be a nest. Bless Morgiana for her comb. Taming my hair was a long and painful battle, one that I would have won without out a problem if the hotel had a shower.<p>

But at last there was none.

There was a small bathtub in a room connected to ours. It took me a while to give up my search to find anything that would let the water flow and fill the tub. I asked Aladin if he knew where the tap was. I received a long stare and he explained to me that if I wanted a bath, I would have to call in some maids to fill the tub with hot water.

The whole time he was talking, I kept wondering if this was really a five star hotel. The interior suggested it as such, but the equipments did not. The one I stayed with my parents at was a four star and it had a bathtub, shower and toilet with running water. It also had light bulbs and an actual glass on the windows.

After Aladin was done with his explanation, he offered to ask the workers to fill the tub for me, considering the fact that I couldn't speak the language and would have to play charade to get my point across. I refused of course. Not only was it unnecessary since I didn't _really_ need to wash right now, I also don't feel like wearing the same clothes after getting clean. I guess I'll buy a shirt in the market place when I see one. But only if I have enough money for the clothes and the ticket back to Jerusalem.

We went out of the room after washing our faces and doing our morning ritual. On our way down the hall, I glanced up at the sky. It was such a beautiful blue with barely a cloud in sight. And also it was almost noon. Aladin should wake up earlier to braid his hair whenever he has an appointment. I don't think anyone would have the patience to wait for him for almost an hour to finish his hairstyle. Aside from Morgiana that is.

Right now, Aladin, Morgiana and I were waiting for Sin in the lobby. He did say he'd take us out for lunch. However, he forgot the to tell us what time he was going to come and pick us up.

Aladin was chatting with the guards standing by the entrance who were ignoring him. How rude. Sometimes, he'd talk to a pretty lady for a few minutes before going back to the guards.

I was sitting on a plush sofa with Morgiana standing beside me, her back straight with her hands behind them and her legs spread apart. She looked like a tiny soldier ready to jump into action. I patted the place next to me for her to sit, but she refused and kept staring ahead. I couldn't help but think that she'll make a great Queen's Guard. Staying still in the same position whilst keeping a poker face takes a lot of nerves.

Oh, well.

More time passed and it seemed like Sin won't be coming anytime soon. With nothing else to do aside stare into space since Morgiana and I have this thing called a language barrier between us and with Aladin busy pestering the guards, talking to every pretty lady that walked by and chatting to random people that looked his direction, I only knew one thing to do during times such as this.

I grabbed my phone along with my earphones from my back pack. Time to listen to some music. I glanced at the battery while casually going through my playlist. My phone still has enough energy to last me a day or two if I used it wisely.

I crossed my legs and leaned back, blaring the music and ignoring my surroundings.

Or I tried to.

After one song, I noticed Morgiana staring at me. She seemed curious with what I'm listening to, but also emberassed that I caught her gaze. I gestured for her once again to sit beside me and for a moment, I thought she would start ignoring me again, but to my surprise she gingerly and shyly sat beside me. I grinned at her and handed the other earphone which she put inside her ear after a short stare at me.

Playing one of my favourite songs, I saw her bobbing her head slightly to the music causing me to smile. Of course everybody loves Beyoncé no matter what language. That's how awesome The Queen B is.

It was a companionable silence that followed, me tapping my feet to the beat and Morgiana humming to herself. We were only disturbed when Aladin returned with Sin and his friends to pick us up for the lunch the older man had promised.

Morgiana handed me the earphone with a smile. Awww, this was the first time I saw her smile. She looked so gloomy when I first met her and often stared at me without any expression on her face that I was beginning to think that she didn't like me. It seems like she was just shy after all.

We left the hotel and walked through the busy market place, following the guy who offered us free food. The faire was bustling with life and we were slow to approach our destination, where ever that place was.

I admit that it was mostly my fault for staring at every sparkly trinket that came across my field of vision. But I couldn't help it, I always had a weakness for jewelry, specially earrings. My ear piercings were a testament to that. Nine on the right and five on the left, most of them simple silver studs.

Someone once told me that all these earpiercings was _surely_ my sign of rebellion against my parents. I couldn't help but laugh at that. Was it really surprising to find out that I have fourteen piercings? I know some people in school who had more than twenty and most of them are all over their body.

I wouldn't dare rebel against my parents. My father who is a cop and mother who worked as a judge wouldn't let me off easily if I started a rebellious phase. I know that. I've seen what happened to my older brother. Honestly my parents could care less about my piercings. As long as it's not visible or a tatoo, I'm fine. My ears were covered by my hair most of the time, which gave my parents more reason not to care.

My hands also kept feeling the colourful fabrics that the vendors were selling. A lot of them felt like they were made of real silk and wool. But I can't be too sure since I'm not very interested in the art of fabrics.

I did not understand the way the things were priced at all and I recalled the confusion with the money yesterday. Remembering that particular event reminded me that I should get back to Jerusalem or call my parents as soon as possible. Tomorrow is my flight back to England and I don't want to be stranded in this place any longer. I wonder if my parents contacted the police by now?

They would probably have to talk to the embassy if I don't return quickly. I'm afraid of the scolding that I will surely receive if they had to resort to contacting the officials.

The sea breeze played with my hair and I followed the group inside a restaurant with a shield in the form of a fish. The place has a few people dining within, most of them wearing colourful costumes and some jewelry. A lady talked to Sin and it seems that they both knew each other well. Aladin told me that during our walk, Sin mentioned that this was his favourite restaurant and one of the places he frequented often when he came to visit Balbadd. The lady led us to a table on a large balcony overlooking the sea.

I sat in between Aladin and Sin's white haired friend Ja'far. The lady left before returning shortly with glasses full of water and a handful of menu cards which she gave to us after setting down the drinks. I barely glanced at it before putting it aside and looking at Aladin with confusion. I didn't understand what was written. Usually there's an english translation on the menu card, sometimes even french or russian, but this card didn't even have pictures to help tourists.

Aladin nodded in understanding at my stare and said something to Sin. He said that he, Morgiana and I didn't know what to order and if he could suggest us something instead. The man smiled brightly and waved a different woman over to say his order.

Aside from Morgiana and that really tall guy that looked like a long lost cousin of hers, everybody was talking to each other as we waited for the food to arrive. I can hear the girl humming a tune that sounded suspiciously like Beyoncé's song "Love on top".

The sky was cloudless and the sun high in the sky. I was beginning to feel the heat and I'm pretty sure that I would have been able to fill buckets with my sweat by now if it weren't for the wind that blew in our direction every once in a while. I was beginning to feel the pain that came with being sunburned. I glanced at my shoulders and would you look at that, they were slowly turning red.

I honestly regret not packing sunscreen with me. I absently began to rub my right shoulder. I need to get under the shade soon or I'll be in a world of pain tomorrow. As much as I love the view of the sea and the fresh breeze, I wished with all my might that the waitress gave us a table inside instead.

I was pushing stray hair away from my face when a small jar slid on the table only to stop in front of me. I looked at Ja'far in question.

"He said it'll help with the sunburn", was Aladin's translation.

I glanced at the white haired man and smiled in gratitude. "Thank you very much, sir."

"He said you can have it. He has more at the hotel."

It was incredibly kind of the man. I guess that he knows exactly what I'll be going to go through in the morning since he's paler than I am. I opened the lid and the smell of coconut filled my nose. I took some cream and rubbed it on my shoulders, neck, face and anything currently exposed to the sun. I left my legs for later since they're pretty safe under the table.

I put the jar inside my bag, just in time for lunch to arrive. Aladin and Morgiana were literally drooling. I on the other hand, tried to refrain a grimace that wanted to appear on my face. I never did like fish or any kind of sea food. As I watched everybody eat with gusto, I reminded myself to be grateful for the food. I wasn't the one paying and therefore I shouldn't complain. I ate a tiny bit of fish politely before ignoring it completely in favour of the steamed vegetables that came with the dish. The food was alright, but I find it to be rather bland for my taste.

The lunch didn't last long with the speed Aladin and, to my surprise, Morgiana was inhaling everything. They even ate most of my share. Not that I'm complaining but it was really a surprise. Soon enough, both were satisfied and running around the balcony and enjoying the view it provided. When that got boring for them or to be more exact, when it got boring for Aladin, he dragged the silent girl to pester the older red head called Masrur.

I stayed rooted in my seat the whole time and listened to what Sin and Ja'far was talking about. I didn't understand a single thing they were saying, of course, but what else was there to do? Well, I guess the view was nice. Maybe I should take a picture.

I shifted in my seat to pick up my back pack from the floor and get my phone. I moved just in time to dodge the spray of water that came from Ja'fars mouth. I frowned at the trail of liquid on the table. Had I not moved earlier I would be covered in spit. Shaking my head at my luck while wondering what has gotten to the man, I noticed Sin worriedly look at the the guy gasping for breath. He looked over his shoulder to where Ja'far was pointing and let out a startled sound.

Curious, I followed his gaze warily and stood abruptly, my chair falling to the ground at the speed of my movement.

_What's going on? _Why is there suddenly a blue half naked giant with it's head squeezed inside a flute standing near Aladin?

_Oh, sweet baby Jesus. Am I high?_ I'm pretty sure I wasn't drunk since it's still noon. The other reason for hallucinating blue giants was if I got myself stoned.

But how could that be? My eyes followed the sudden movement of Sin and I instantly suspected him of something. Did he put weed in my food? He did talk to a lady who knew him and worked here. It's a possibility. A possibility that was quickly striked through when I remembered that Ja'far was as surprised as I was. Sin wouldn't have a reason to make his friend baked right? Even if the drugs were only put in my food and his, why are Morgiana and Aladin acting as if the blue giant popping out of a flute one of the most common thing to ever occur in their life. They did eat my dish too. It made no sense at all.

A scream broke me out of my thoughts and I looked around me. I noted that the other occupants in the restaurant were also gaping at the blue thing. Now I at least know that I'm not on drugs. There's absolutely no way the restaurant staff would try to make their costumers high.

Happy: yes.

Tripping balls: no.

That's how it works in business. Unless you're part of a criminal organisation or something.

I think Aladin was introducing the giant to Sin. He kept mentioning the word "Ugo".

In the back of my mind, I remembered the being to be a djinn called Ugo who was a character in the series called Magi. My eyes moved to the owner of the flute. Aladin was smiling at it and talking to it as if it was a real person. The thing in turn did some weird body movements to convey his answer.

Morgiana was calmly standing beside the blue haired boy whilst Masrur gazed at it with a poker face. Sin was running around it like a kid during christmas, poking the giant every once in a while. Ja'far was still seated in the same position, having calmed his coughing just a few seconds ago and was now looking at me curiously.

He was probably wondering why I was imitating a dead fish.

Sinbad spoke with Aladin after his examination. The young boy in return looked around and noticed all the people watching them. All were in a state of shock like I.

I watched as the blue giant returned to the flute. It looked like a balloon got popped and a vacuum was sucking it in. The musical instrument hovered for a fraction of a second in the air before falling down, being caught deftly by the sheepish boy whom it belonged to.

I felt my forehead with the palm of my hands. Did the heat get to me? Did the heat get to _everyone?_

There's no way that Ugo could be a real breathing being, right? Surely what I saw was nothing but a hologram. Even if a small voice in the back of my mind whispered explanations to me of how Ugo was real, I kept answering with logical explanations of how he was absolutely not. _Really now, a hologram?_ _But you couldn't see through him. Surely if it was indeed a one, you would have been able to see through him. Technology hasn't evolved to the point where there are holograms that some one cannot see through. Plus where is the projector? It's too bright for it to be so vivid._

I bit my lip.

A puppet then. _With no strings?_ A remote controlled puppet. _Why would anyone build something as intricate as that?_ Because of a competition. _Really now?_

_Of course it was for a competition!_ Aladin and Morgiana were just very good and hardcore cosplayers! They probably had help in building the puppet or robot or whatever the thing is. I tuned out the voice of reason trying to tell me, that the way it returned into the flute indicated that it hadn't had a skeleton to help it stand, which meant there was no way it could be a robot or puppet. But what else could it be? A living, breathing and _real_ djinn?!

What silly thoughts.

* * *

><p>It wasn't long that I found myself, Morgiana and Aladin dragged under a bridge by Sin and his companions. Well, to be completely honest it was Aladin that was being dragged around like a puppet. I only followed because I have no idea what to do and where the hotel was. I did not feel like getting lost and I really need my translator.<p>

Aladin and Sin were talking again. It seems like most of the time they were the ones doing the talking. To be honest, I'm quite talkative too, but not being able to have a proper conversation with anyone besides Aladin made it seem like I'm a silent person.

The little boy blew on the flute and suddenly I was standing besides the giant.

Wow, he's incredibly blue.

I craned my neck to look at the flute acting as a head. The thing was crouching slightly to avoid touching the floor of the bridge. It's a lot more impressive up close, I can see the muscles in detail, some tiny hair poking out of the arms and tiny pores to imitate skin. I poked the thing, watching with fascination as it gradually began to turn red.

Bloody hell, this is one brilliantly programmed robot. How come it hasn't been on the news yet? I'm sure that companies all over the world would pay a lot of money to get their hands on such a gem.

"That's Ugo!" I glanced at Aladin proudly introducing his robot as if it was his best friend. How adorable, a little boy and his robot puppet thing. It feels like I'm in one of Moniques animes. Eva something. I don't remember, but apparently that was a really fucked up show, though. I never watched it, but Monique kept insisting that I should.

I nodded at him. "He's an amazing robot. Did someone help you build him?"

Aladin blinked at me in confusion. "Robot? I don't know what that is. But I didn't build him! I've known Ugo ever since I can remember."

Why did he not know what a robot was? Maybe he didn't know the english word? And what did he mean he's known the robot since he was born and yet judging by everyones reaction, no one else did? Was his parents or who ever built it _that_ secretive that not even the media found out about it?

"Uh, sure. What were you talking about with Sin?" I ignored the robot the purple haired man was now expecting.

"Oh, well he explained to me that I'm a Magi and that his name is not really Sin, but Sinbad."

I raised an eyebrow. "Of course you are", did no one tell the kid that he's cosplaying a character called Aladin from Magi? Even I know that and I only read the first three books. Does that mean that his real name is Aladin? "Sinbad as in that guy from the Arabian Nights?"

"The arabian what?"

"The story about him with the seven seas or something." The young boy scrunched his face and talked to Sinbad. The guy in return gave me a blinding smile and exclaimed something loudly. I narrowed my eyes. "What did you tell him Aladin?"

"I told him that you knew about his books. And he said that he's proud that his legends reached the lands beyond the dark continent", explained Aladin. I have no idea what he meant. As far as I know the Arabian Nights story was a very old one. I also have no clue what he meant by the dark continent. "And he also said that he's a King from a country called Sindria."

Now, I'm not very good with geography, but I know that there's no such country called Sindria. But then again, I don't know half the country of the world. Just the major ones. I still confuse Spain and Portugal with each other. Was Spain the neighbour of France or was it Portugal? I even used to think that Belarus was a joint country of Italy and Russia because the word "bela" was in it, which as everyone knows means beautiful. If it was spelled correctly that is. My teacher had such a laugh when I explained that to him.

The reason why I'm doubting Aladin was because I'm having a hard time believing that a country called Sindria really existed since a guy cosplaying Sinbad from some anime show insisted that he ruled said piece of land.

Aladin continued to talk with the man. Morgiana pitched in afterwards and before I knew it, Sin was gently pushing me and the other girl away. I gave him a glare. I don't know what the bloody hell is going on, but I do not like to be pushed around.

It seems that Morgiana and I share the same opinion. I saw her puff her cheeks in annoyance, looking like a squirrel with its mouth stuffed full of nuts, before digging her foot underground. And my goodness, when I said that she dug her foot, I meant it literally. The floor broke as if it was made of thin wood and not stone.

What the fuck.

* * *

><p>AN: Hurray! The third chapter is finaly here!<p>

I must apologize for the late update, but school and work caught up on me. I'm planning to update_ at least_ once a month. My update always depends on how much free time I have to write, since most of the time I'm working on some artworks.

Kudos to two friends of mine who reminded me that most teenagers nowadays at least tried to smoke some weed at some point.

What do we find out about Claire in this chapter: Her mother is a judge and her dad a cop. She has a shit ton of ear piercings and hasn't watched Evangelion, but knows of it because of her friend Monique. She is a fan of Beyoncé, has no sense of direction and is an utter idiot in geography that her teacher was surprised she hasn't gotten lost and found the lost city of Atlantis on accident yet.

Also, I always thought that Ja'far would easily get sunburnt since he's so freaking pale, which is why he's often covered from head to toe. He probably knows how to make home made sun cream.

Also Ja'fars POV at the beginning! Why him? Well, why not? He's awesome.

I hope you guys enjoyed this!


	4. Long day

Chapter 04: Long day

* * *

><p>The setting sun was slowly encasing the city of Balbadd in darkness. Vendors were beginning to pack, people were filling into pubs and the pleasure houses opened their doors. Between two buildings hidden by the shadows, a young man was leaning against the walls. His gaze bore through the crowd passing by, sneering once in a while when men with colourful clothing laughed with each other or sniffed disdainfully at a beggar. In his hand he held a lit cigar, the glow at the tip was the only thing to be seen in the darkness.<p>

This man judging the world was part of a group of thieves called the Fog Troupe. He was waiting for his companions to return from checking out their next target, but they were taking their sweet time. He guessed that they were most likely arguing somewhere or got distracted and had some fun in a dark alley.

No matter, the night was still young and he enjoyed the silence and the solitary the darkness gave him. Don't get him wrong, he loved the members of the Fog Troupe, even considered some of them as his brothers and sisters. However, like every sibling, they can get annoying once in a while. Since their hide out was also the haven of orphans, it was hard to have a time alone for himself.

The children enjoyed a good game of hide and seek, and knew every nook and cranny of the hide-out. It was easy for them to find him and make him play with them. It made him wonder if they knew more about the layout of the place, unlike some of the thieves who still got lost.

One of the reasons he told the new recruits to respect the children was because if one ever found themselves wandering around with their destination no where in sight, the children would be willing to help them. But if they didn't like you, they're prone to making you even more lost and lose your mind in the process.

Once in a while he'd find a guy huddled in a corner, whispering to themselves to stop the laughter and that they were coming.

Children can be incredibly cruel with their pranks. He didn't have the heart to tell them to stop, because he knew that if he was as carefree as them in his childhood, such tricks would be something he would do too. In fact, he would be the one to instigate it. No, let the kids have fun. He needed to protect their innocent outlook in life even just a little. Because in this cruel and unforgiving world, who was there to care for orphaned slum children.

He took a drag from his cigar and stared at the smoke that came from his mouth as he exhaled.

"No, leave us alone!"

The young man glanced up from inspecting his cheap tabacco and looked through the crowd. That voice belonged to someone he recalled vaguely. A tiny girl at the age of seven, malnourished, dirty and crying her heart out came to mind. Quickly, his golden eyes scanned the crowd, resting once he found what he was looking for.

Sana, if he remembered correctly, was holding the hands of a teenaged girl tightly. He frowned thoughtfully, he's never seen such clothes before. Was she a whore of some sorts? She was showing an awful lot of skin. Not even the prostitutes would dare allow so much of their legs to be visible.

The child was glaring at an old man who was inspecting the older girl like a piece of meat. The old man hit the tiny girl aside and put his wrinkly hands on the whore's shoulders, who grimaced. He could almost hear her thoughts from the expression on her face. _Don't touch me you filthy old man_.

She pushed the old guy's hands away from her. Crouching down, she helped Sana up, dusting some dirt from her already grimy clothes.

The old man sneered and pulled the whore up by her hair. She yelped in pain and looked at the other people to help her. Realising that none of them would come to her aid, she shifted her attention to the man. Quickly she grabbed the hand pulling her hair with both hands, stepped back slightly with her feet and went under the arm clutching her hair. The man screamed in pain as his wrist was twisted. It was most likely broken, if the odd angle of his hand was anything to go by. Letting auburn hair go, the man looked around and spotted guards patroling the district.

"Help! An assault!"

The whore blinked in bewilderment as if she did not understand why the man was calling for the guards whilst Sana tugged at her hand. The young girl looked around the market place for an escape route and spotted him in the process. Quickly she headed towards him while pulling the older girl with her. The crowd of on lookers that stopped at the commotion parted for them. "Kassim!"

He dropped his cigar on the ground, grinded it with the soles of his shoes and nodded at the girls. Sana smiled brightly and together they ran away from the guards who spotted them.

He knew he could take on the dogs of the royal family, but he'd rather conserve his energy for tonight's heist. He led them through the alleys, which he knew like the back of his hands until he was sure that they had lost the guards.

Turning around, he looked at the two girls leaning with exhaustion against the wall. "Care to tell me what's going on, Sana?"

The child grinned sheepishly, glancing around the surrounding and whispering to him as if to tell a secret. "Remember yesterday when I came to you guys with the apples? She was the one who gave them to me."

Of course he remembered. She was crying and holding her younger brother's hand, begging to be under the infamous Fog Troupe's protection. Their mother had been killed that night by a mugger and the siblings, not knowing where to go, searched the whole night for the group of thieves. They offered the exotic fruit as compensation, but the Fog Troupe refused. They were a righteous group of thieves that stole for the people of the slums, it would be wrong to take the food from the children who lost their mother.

They never asked how they got the bundle of food.

Kassim glanced at the prostitute. He judged that she must be a foreigner by her complexion and rounded eyes. Not exactly her master's favourite whore if the lack of jewelry was anything to go by. Perhaps she was to be sold at one of the brothels but escaped? It did not explain why she would give such expensive gifts to a beggar though. But her owner must be incredibly rich if she had the money to purchase the food at all.

"And what were you doing with her?" he asked the younger girl.

"Well... she seemed lost when I saw her at the market place. I thought I'd help her find her way back to the inn she's staying at."

The young man hummed thoughtfully. He looked back at the woman, only to find himself startled at the intent green eyes staring at him. "What?" he snapped.

She answered with a charming smile and words he could not understand.

"Can you believe?! She doesn't speak our language. It was really hard for me to tell her that I'm trying to help her", Sana said with exitement in her tone.

Kassim turned his attention back to the younger person. "And you know where she's staying, how?"

Sana rubbed her head sheepishly. "I followed her yesterday..."

Kassim shook his head with a grin, this girl will make an excellent asset to the Fog Troup once she's grown up. "Alright. Let's go and bring her back to her master." He could waste a few minutes before Hassan and Zainab returned to the meeting place, might as well make sure that one of his charges didn't get herself in trouble.

Smiling, Sana looked around. "Uhhhh... can you bring us to the main road first?"

* * *

><p>Once again, I glanced to the young man called Kassim who was holding Sana's left hand while I held her right. She insisted through her pouting that I hold her, in case I wandered off again.<p>

This afternoon, after the shock of Morgiana destroying a brick floor with a single stomp of her foot wore off, I found myself lost and wandering the busy marketplace. I was following Aladin and the others as we headed back to the hotel for a "War meeting", is what Aladin told me. But I guess that I got lost in my thought and either wandered off on my own or I got swallowed by the crowd and the others did not notice that I was gone.

But honestly, how was it possible that she broke the bloody floor?! They weren't made of cardboard nor were they made of wood. That much was certain, I checked after all. I lifted every single brick that surrounded the broken ground and they were all made of stone.

After getting a cough to catch my attention from the entertained Sinbad, I realised that I was acting like a madwoman by lifting all the left over stones. I blushed, stuttered and promptly ignored everyone, much to their amusement.

I was trudging behind the group and did not notice that they were no where in my field of vision any longer until it was too late.

I was on the verge of a panic attack once more when the sweet little angel called Sana rescued me. She pulled me around the streets and at first I thought that she wanted me to play with her and her friends, but soon I realised that she was trying to guide me back at the hotel once I recognised some vendors that me and the others passed by earlier in the late mornings.

We could have gotten at the hotel an hour ago, if some guys hadn't started harassing us. Sana always made a fuss and shouted at them, I didn't know what they wanted or what they were talking about, but as soon as they lifted a hand against the tiny girl, I knew they were bad news. I never had to use my hand to hand training in an actual fight, therefore it was a bit awkward until I stopped holding back.

The old guy was the last straw since then. Kassim made sure that any guy that so much as gazed at us the wrong way received a warning glare and a sneer, which I am incredibly thankful for. I still felt bad at breaking the old guy's wrist and punching another guy in the face. I've never hurt anyone before, because I've never been harassed to such an extent. It was a first. I wonder if this was what my mother felt when she was young and kneed a guy so hard he had to go to the hospital. A week later, her friend who's cousin was a friend of the asshole told her that she broke his testicles. There was a law suit filed against her, but that's a story for another time.

Oh my goodness, I sure hope that I won't get sued for using self-defense. My parents would get in a frenzy. Not only would they have to notify the embassy if I don't get back soon, they'd have to deal with a law suit too. Pressing my lips together, I tried to think of something positive and glanced over to the young girl.

Sana was happily talking to Kassim. He replied sometimes with full sentences and not just humming noises.

The young child's chatter calmed my mind and my eyes would often drift to Kassim. He often caught me staring at him, but I didn't care and I don't think he minded either. He hasn't told me off yet. I couldn't help it though, those dreadlocks were just awesome, I wonder how long he's been growing his hair?

We stopped at the hotel and Kassim let out a low whistle and a raised eyebrow. I didn't know why he did that.

I crouched down and gave Sana a stern look "Wait just a second, okay?" She looked confused and I bit my lower lip. How do you tell someone to wait? I lifted my hand and pointed at the ground. Standing up I showed the palm of my hand again and moved to get inside. Kassim and Sana however turned around and I had to run after them to tell them to stop.

Then after three attempts and me wondering if the guards would let me in with a dirty girl and suspiscious looking young man, Kassim and Sana understood what I meant. I remembered when Sinbad entered the establishment with barely any clothes on. _Nope, no chance of them getting in here..._ I hurried over to the entrance, nodding at the guards who gave me impassive looks.

I wonder if they recognised me because of Sin. He did cause quite a commotion when we arrived here yesterday.

_Now, what can I give those two to show my gratitude?_ I myself have not much with me.

I looked around the lobby and my eyes rested at a random coffee table displaying an assortment of fruits. Well, I can give them that. I took the whole bowl and headed to the entry. A worker tried to stop me once but I looked at him and just said the word "Sin" and rubbed my thumb and fingers together. He understood that he should put the whole bowl of fruits on Sin's tab. I guess I'm lucky that the man made such a ruckus yesterday which made him, -Aladin, Morgiana and I by extension- well known in the establishment.

Plus he's apparently super rich and a king, I'm sure a bowl of fruit wouldn't put a dent on his bank account. I still think the whole royalty thing to be a huge farce, but I'll believe that he's incredibly rich.

Father and mother would be incredibly disappointed in me if they found out that I was shamelessly using someones money. But what they don't know won't hurt them. Just like how those nights sneaking out to party didn't harm anyone.

Kassim and Sana were hidden behind an alley. I wouldn't have found them if I was not actively searching and if Kassim hadn't lit another cigar. _Honestly, what is it with this guy and shady alleys?_ He was also hanging around a dubious place when Sana dragged me towards him.

I eyed the cigar Kassim was smoking while I approached them. Was he a dealer?

Sana looked incredibly happy with the fruits I handed her, but Kassim looked suspicious._ What, did he think I poisoned the food?_ I gave the young child a tight hug muttering my thanks the whole time. I stood up and gave Kassim my hand to shake. He looked confused for a moment and looked towards the young girl for what to do. Her answer was a shrug. I rolled my eyes and took his hand and shook it. "Thanks for the help."

I watched them slink into the darkness, waving until I could no longer see them. I blinked my eyes as I realised something.

Maybe I should have taken the actual _bowl _back to the hotel.

* * *

><p>I entered the hotel with a sigh. What a day.<p>

None of the workers approached me as I headed towards the stairs. Turning left at the forked hallway, I counted the doors that I passed. If I remember correctly, the sixth door was the room Sinbad rented for us. Not bothering to knock, I opened the door and saw a half naked Masrur about to pull off the towel from his waist.

He stared at me blankly and I stared back with an equal poker face. I slammed the door shut, the sound echoed through the whole hallway.

I covered my blushing face with my hands. _Oh... oh my goodness, those muscles were wonderful. _How embarrassing! I cannot believe that just happened. I should learn to knock.

It's not like I've never seen a half naked man before. Sin could testify that. What made me embarassed was the fact that I was the one to suddenly barge in.

The door opened and in my distress, words came out of my mouth so fast I had no idea what I was saying. "I'm sorry! I didn't know this was your room! I thought it was mine and Morgiana's and Aladin's. I'm incredibly sorry! I didn't mean to stare at your muscles which are really incredible by the way how many times a day do you work out and I'm so sorry if I'm rambling and sorry for staring but I couldn't help it you won't happen to let me touch your abs right oh my goodness what am I asking I'm sorry that was rather straightforward of me we just met yesterday after all and-"

A pair of firm but gentle hands on my shoulders stopped my rambling and I stared in shock at Ja'fars face staring into my eyes. He said something to me and made an obvious show of breathing in and out. I copied his rhythm and calmed down after a few breaths. Sinbad poked his head from the door next to Masrur and said something to Ja'far, most likely asking what was going on.

The white haired guy answered, pointing behind him towards the door. Masrur came out and Sinbad asked something to him which made him shrug.

My lips trembled when the red head stared at me. The embarrassment was slowly creeping its way back. I fear that my face was slowly turning the same shade as his hair. Sin laughed and patted my head, for some reason it made me calm down.

Ja'far shook his head, making the green clothe covering his head swish back and forth. Gently, he pushed me away from the two men.

We went back to where the stairs was and turned right instead of left. I followed him like a little lamb. The silence between us was incredibly uncomfortable and to stop shifting around, I focused on the sounds of our footsteps instead.

I blinked. No matter how hard I concentrated on the pitter patter of shoes hitting the floor, the only sound I could hear was my own. From what I can see from under his dress, Ja'far was wearing ankle length leather shoes with tiny three centimeter heels with soles made of wood. How are his steps so silent? It's like he's a ninja.

My intent staring at the man's foot caused me to bump into him when he stopped. Looking up to a freckled face, I notice that he was trying to hide his amusement by covering his mouth with a hand. _He knew. _Trying not to blush at my shameful fascination of his silent steps, I looked at the ground.

Ja'far shifted and knocked on the door.

"Claire!", Aladin excitedly dragged me inside the room. Ja'far followed and closed the door after him. "Mor was about to head out and search for you since it was getting late! We were nervous that the guards wouldn't let you in, but uncle Sin asked them to look out for you."

"Sorry for the trouble..." I murmured, touched that they would worry about my well being since we were still practically strangers. I avoided eye contact with Morgiana even as I smiled at her and earned a nod in return.

The girl spoke to Aladin. "You just suddenly disappeared. Mor and Mr. Masrur was having a hard time smelling you in the crowd of people. They said that you have a smell that blends in easily with it's surrounding."

I blinked. "I-is that so?" I decided to shrug off the fact that Morgiana and Masrur were _trying to sniff me out and knew my scent. _It would be best if I ignored their odd behaviours, thinking about them gave me a headache. I suppressed the instinct to lift my arm and smell myself though. I wonder what an odour that blends into it's surroundings would be like.

I shifted at the silence that followed.

Ja'far coughed and looked at Aladin. The man said something to the young boy who nodded in return. Aladin turned to me. "We were about to head out and I was wondering if you wanted to come along, but you seem really tired. Do you want to stay here instead?"

I thought about what he said. Do I really want to go frolic with them in the evening? Not really. Sure, I'm worried about what might happen to Mor and Aladin, but I trust Sinbad and his companions to a certain degree now. Even if Sin had the vibe of a creep when we met and Masrur unnerved me with his constant poker face, Mr. Ja'far seemed like an alright guy that can keep anyone in a leash.

Nodding towards Aladin, I stretched my arms up, sighing when I heard a bone pop. It's really been a long day. A nap would be incredibly nice.

The young boy smiled in understanding and followed the other two people out. Pausing in front of the door he turned around. "I almost forgot, there's still hot water in the tub. I'll see you later Claire!"

"Yeah." I probably stank of sweat.

* * *

><p><em>"Don't forget, you're mine now."<em>

A cold smile.

Rich honey coloured eyes staring full of worry.

A flash of light.

Pain.

_Ding_

The sound of a grand bell.

_Dong_

"Claire!"

A familiar voice.

_Ding_

Salty water falling down a face.

_Dong_

Tears...

_Ding_

Darkness.

_Dong_

I'm floating...

_Ding_

Drowning

_Dong_

_Ding_

Drowning...

_Dong._

I opened my eyes and sat up straight. Coughing and grasping for breath, I looked around my environment. It was dark, but thanks to the full moon outside shining its light through the small window, I could make out my surrounding and concluded that I was still in the bathroom.

I shivered and stood up. Grabbing a towel near me to dry myself before wrapping it firmly around my body, I headed towards the door. _I must have fallen asleep. _It seemed like I have been more tired than I expected if I fell asleep in the tub. That's never happened before. Wrinkling my nose at my pruney fingers I doned my dirty clothes.

Honestly, how long have I been in the bath? I looked around for my phone and found it at the edge of the bed I slept in. My eyes widened in shock at the time it was showing me.

12:00 o'clock.

_Midnight_.

It's been three days already. At around 9'a.m. my family would be heading back home and I would be stuck here in this weird faire. Unless through some miracle my phone decided to actually get some signal from the satelites and I can call them.

I bit my lower lip and leaned on the window sill. My gaze wandered towards the moon and I felt myself calm instantly. I took a deep breath. I need to keep calm.

Keep calm and carry on.

Stay positive!

Yes, I'm sure that my parents have called the authorities already. In fact, dad might even be the one to lead the search party.

I looked up at the sky once again with a more positive outlook. I never noticed it until now because I was too worried about everything that's happened so far, but the sky, it was full of stars. Could it be because this place didn't use any electicity? Actually, perhaps it was part of the event where they were not allowed to use anything that made a modern house function. Like electicity and running water.

All because they want to show the night sky in all its glory.

Like a giddy child I searched for familiar constellations. I remembered a school trip to a science museum and they gave us a phamplet that showed the most recognisable array of stars.

One of them was the Big Dipper.

I frowned. I couldn't find it. I don't think that it was because I was in another country that the stars were different. Stars were fixed. They don't move around. The earth does. Which is why some constellations seemed to be upside down when someone searches for it, so why can't I find the Big Dipper? The easiest constellation to find.

Before I could ponder about its disappearance, I noticed light near the shore. It was bright red and black smoke floated up in the sky.

"A fire." And a large one at that. I watched as the flames rose up high in the sky for a minute or two before disappearing completely.

The lack of sirens and panicked people led me to believe that the staff members were practicing for their grand finale.

Oh.

What do I do after the convention ends? I couldn't stay here. I have no where to go.

* * *

><p>Yes! Finally an update!<p>

Who here thought she'd meet Alibaba first instead of Kassim?

LOL four chapters in and she's still hasn't met the guy. Honestly Claire.

Fun fact: Sana was originally called Mina. I had to change it when I realized that Mina was an actual Magi character. You know the little girl that was almost eaten by that one gigantic dessert flower that got drunk because Alibaba threw a barrel of wine at it? Yeah, that was Mina.

I've got plans for that little girl, Sana.

Thank you to everyone who faved and followed this story! Lot's of love to all those who reviewed.

So uhm yeah. Claire thinks Kassim sells weed lmao I'm sorry.

* * *

><p>EDIT: 28.03.14<p>

Well, not really an edit. Just wanted to say:

Thanks ForlornFreund for pointing out that Sana was actually a Magi character. Seriously should have double-checked the wikia.

This Sana has absolutely nothing to do with the Magi character. She only has the same name. It's a small world after all.


	5. Greeting Strangers

Chapter 05: Greeting Strangers

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><p>The sea breeze played with my already messy hair. It was late in the afternoon and I decided to take a walk through the busy streets of Balbadd. Who knew that walking in a straight line would eventually lead me to the large body of water called the sea? I certainly did not.<p>

I woke up today at around noon, having only fallen asleep during the cracks of dawn. I stayed up late not only because I had a lot in my mind; like what to do after the festivities ended, but also because Morgiana and Aladin hadn't returned. I felt like a worried mother waiting for her wild teenaged children to come home after a tough night of partying. It made me wonder if my mom or dad would have stayed up like me if they found out that I went clubbing every now and then.

When I opened my eyes and realised that the beds were untouched, panic rose in me and I ran all the way to the other side of the hotel where I knew Sinbad and his companions stayed. I knocked and knocked until my knuckles were sore and the lady whose room was also in the same hallway poked her head out to yell at me in this strange language that sounded Arabic but at the same time wasn't.

I had to run back to my own room before she decided to call the guards. I used my time to pace around, worrying over what could have happened to them. Could it be that Sinbad and his companions decided to kidnap the kids? But that's not possible, right? Ja'far seemed like such a kind and reliable person; there's no way he'd do something like that, but then again, the most unexpected people can turn out to be a bunch of psychopaths. Could he be someone like that?

I frowned and stopped my pacing; I was over thinking things again. I decided then to go out and search for them, but to make sure that I didn't get lost, I only walked in a straight line. I passed several vendors, watched fishes get slaughtered and dodged some nasty looking guys lurking around around the dark corners of some building. It made me wonder if one of them was the nice guy I met yesterday; the one with long dreadlocks called Kassim.

I had no luck in finding Aladin and Morgiana in the chaos of people trying to sell their wares. But then again, I wasn't really looking for them. I did at the beginning of my walk; I was convinced that Balbadd wasn't as huge as it seems and that a child with long blue braided hair with a red head in tow wouldn't be difficult to find.

I was wrong.

Which was why I was trying to find the silent giant Masrur. I was confident that he would have towered over the heads of several people, his hair colour aided my search for him since there weren't a lot of people parading around as a buff fiery red head; he was like a flaming beacon in a sea of boring brunettes, but between the busy market, children with their high pitched laughter and the merchants' booming voices, it was an impossible task. Add some more people walking around during lunch time and you have a bazaar packed with all kinds of people.

I gave up looking for anyone when I got slapped by a fish. A freaking stinking fish. Blood and guts included. I would like to blame the man selling it, but I knew that it was mostly my fault for not paying attention to where I was going. That's how I found myself sitting here at the shore, away from all the noise and busy bodies and awful smell of sweat and fish carcass. I was leaning against a giant rock and digging my feet into the warm sand while I thanked Ja'far for the suncream he gave me.

Trying to comb my fingers through my hair caused me to wince. I honestly hate it when my hair gets air dried, they become such a tangled curly mess. I usually iron them to look presentable, or at the very least, brush it. But sadly, I didn't own a comb and I'm not the kind of person to go through someone else's bag and use their things without permission. I sighed, I really envy Morgiana with her straight hair. Hell, even Sinbad and Aladin have such lovely long hair.

Giving up in untangling it, I stretched and looked around; jumping slightly when I found Kassim leaning on the rock and looking down at me. He had a smirk on his face and I guessed that he had been standing there for a while now and was waiting for me to notice him.

I squinted my eyes at him as I looked up. The sun was behind him and illuminating him in such a fashion that his eyes almost looked like they were glowing. Kind of creepy, but also cool. I had to resist the urge to pull out my phone to take a picture of him. I would have put it in Instagram with the hashtags #hotguy, #dreadlocks and #nofilter.

He motioned for me to scoot over with his hands, and grudgingly I moved to make space for him. We shared the rock to lean on and both of us stared at the sea. The wind blew from his direction making me catch a whiff of his cigar. He said something and I looked at him questioningly; this made him sigh in annoyance. I wonder if he forgot that I didn't speak his language.

It could have just been me, but I noticed that his irritated glare suddenly got a mischievous hint to it.

Pointing at himself he said his name before pointing at me and then saying my own. I raised an eyebrow, I already knew his name; Sana introduced him after all, what's the point in trying to introduce himself again? He gestured at the cigar and said something. I stared at him blankly with an annoyed yet confused glare as he pronounced every syllable of the word slowly.

Incredibly slowly.

It wasn't long until I realised that he was trying to teach me a word in his language. I blinked, smiled and mouthed the words as best as I could. It made him snort and me blush. I knew, without him trying to laugh his ass off, that I butchered the word with my pronounciation and accent.

* * *

><p>I was in a good mood when I returned to the hotel. I watched the sunset with Kassim, learned some words in a different language and didn't get lost on my way back. Yes, it was an incredibly good day even if I didn't suceed in finding Aladin and Morgiana. My time with Kassim made me realise that I was too worried about them, too full of mistrust when it came to Sinbad, too worried about my missed flight and that I only needed to cool off my head with the cigar he had offered to share.<p>

On my way to my room, I passed by Sinbad and his friends. My mood skyrocketed, that meant that Aladin and Morgiana were back too. I greeted the three guys cheerfully in their language, which for some reason seemed to shock them. I didn't stop to try and ask Sinbad where Aladin and Morgiana were, not that I could, Kassim only taught me a couple words, one of them was hello. He's such a nice guy.

Aladin and Mor were most likely in their room and I need to have a serious talk with them in regards to disappearing so late in the night. Now I don't mind Morgiana going wild to party, she's probably fifteen, therefore only a year older when I started to sneak out from my own home. Telling her that it was wrong would make me a hypocrite and I don't want that. But Aladin was too young, what if he accidentally drank alcohol? From what I can tell, he's only around ten years old; too young to be traveling without his parents in my opinion.

I opened the door and saw the blue haired boy on his knees and leaning on the windowsill. "Hey! Why didn't you guys come back last night?" I asked as casually as I could while I headed to my bed. Pulling my shoes and socks off from my feet, I resisted the urge to sniff at them. I've been wearing the same socks for a while now, I'm very lucky that I don't have stinky feet, something the men in my family weren't blessed with, but I was curious to know how badly it stunk. Thankfully it didn't give off any odor yet, had I received the genes that plagued my father and brother, I'm pretty sure I can kill someone with my socks right here and now.

I walked over to Aladin when he didn't answer me. His eyes stared blankly into space and I poked him. He didn't react. Worried, I sat on the floor, but instead of looking out the window like the young boy, I was facing the whole room. I wriggled my toes after as I spoke to him. "Alright, spill. I know that look. It's the look of someone who got disappointed about something", noticing that Morgiana wasn't around and she's usually near Aladin, I turned my head to the young boy. "Is it a love problem?" Did he have a crush on Morgiana and confessed last night only to get rejected?

Aladin chuckled and sat to face the room too. "No, it's not..."

The silence that followed was companionable, I knew that he wouldn't say anything unless I urged him, which was why I looked him in the eyes as I spoke to him. "Aladin, I know we just met a few days ago and you have absolutely no obligation to tell me what happened last night that got you down, but know that as long as I'm here, you have my full attention. Sometimes, the best way to get over a disappointment is to rant to your hearts' content." I would know. I did that enough with Monique.

He gave me a thankful smile and let his blue eyes shift from mine to his hands. "I met my friend last night... We promised each other that we would go on an adventure together and see the world. I crossed the desert because of that promise, but in the end he said that he couldn't fulfill it," his smile turned sad, and I can tell that he was relieving what had happened last night. "I was really excited too see him after such a long time too."

I knew that feeling.

The feeling of being ditched by your friends; finding out that they didn't care. That after all the time you spent with each other, a single misunderstanding was all it took for a group of friends to fall apart. It was both sad and relieving at the same time, because you'd finally know who was a true friend and who would gladly stab you in the back.

I began to speak as I gave Aladin a one armed hug. "It's normal for friends to disappoint each other and even have a quarrel or two. Sometimes, you have to give it time and the problem will resolve itself, but other times, you have to be the first to reach out and ask why exactly he said those things to you." I remember a girl with glaring chocolate coloured eyes sneering at me before blinking as a misunderstanding got cleared. She was the person who was and still is, my best friend.

"Thanks, Claire."

I grinned at him. "Sorry if it's not a very useful advice, I'm not very good at giving them."

"No, it's alright. Talking made me feel better," his stomach rumbled and he chuckled, "It made me hungry too."

Standing up I motioned for him to stay exactly where he was. "It's alright, I'll get us some food." Putting my shoes back on I stretched and headed for the door, however, before I opened it I remembered why I was in such a good mood earlier.

"Oh, Aladin! I almost forgot to tell you. I learned how to say hello in your language!" I told him excitedly.

The young boy smiled from across the room. "Really? Let's hear it then."

I took a deep breath and said the word Kassim thought me carefully, making sure that I didn't pronounce it wrong. Kassim had been rather adamant that I speak the word fluently, making me repeat it over and over again while he grinned and snickered once in a while.

The word made Aladin laugh and I blushed. "I know that my pronounciation sucks and that my accent is probably making it worse but-"

The young boy waved his right hand around. "No. It's not that. Even if your accent made it sound funny, your pronounciation is just fine."

Putting my hands on my hips, I glared at him "Is that so? What's so funny then?"

Aladin pressed his lips together as he stiffled another round of laughter. "I just hope that you haven't greeted anyone with that word," he giggled, "because what you said right now meant fuck you."

Silence.

I blinked and balked. Oh, shit. I said the word to Sinbad and his friends earlier with such confidence it's no wonder that they looked so shocked! I hope that they don't hate me because of that!

I pressed my lips together to refrain myself from letting out _certain words_ not to be spoken in front of children. Clenching my fists in anger, I stormed out, slamming the door and ignoring the sudden burst of laughter from the other side. I smiled to myself as I headed down the corridor, at least his mood got better.

But damn that guy Kassim. He is _so dead_ the next time I see him!

* * *

><p>It didn't take long to get something to eat. I just went down to the lobby and grabbed another bowl of fruits. The worker there looked at me suspisciously and was about to stop me from bringing the food up if I hadn't swiftly jogged away. I was munching on a pear, at least I thought it was a pear since it was shaped like one, but it was a bright red; like an apple, however it tasted more like an orange; which was incredibly weird.<p>

When I rounded the corner of the hallway I saw Sinbad and Ja'far crouching, their heads pressed against the wall. There was an incredibly elaborate cup between their ears and the wall. The both of them were murmuring to each other while Masrur stood beside them and stared impassively into the air. I nodded to the red headed man as I came closer. I have absolutely no doubt that they were eavesdropping on someone. I looked around and tried to picture who's room it could be, only to come to the realisation that it was the room I shared with the other kids.

Morgiana must be back since I doubt that Aladin was the kind of person to talk to no one in particular.

I bit the weird fruit, making sure that the crunching noise was loud enough to make the two idiots turn around to look at me. Ja'far had the gall to look sheepish while Sin continued to eavesdrop. He only looked up for a second to give me a grin before ignoring me once again.

Annoyed, I was about to continue on my way to the door but Masrur blocked my way. Side stepping didn't work either, the man was not going to let me through him. "Can you move?" I knew he didn't understand what I said, but I tried anyway.

He didn't budge.

I leaned on the wall near a window. I really need to get past this trio. Aladin might be starving to death right now!

I angrily ate the pear fruit thing. Once I was at it's core, I chucked it at Sinbad, knowing that it would hit him on the head. I used to play handball a few years ago and I was one of the more offensive players and rarely missed my shots. I had to stop playing last year though. I had too much on my plate with school, karate, yoga and handball. I had to drop one and dropping school was sadly not an option. I was good at the sport but I didn't love it as much as karate or yoga, in fact I wouldn't even be on the team if it weren't for a bet with my younger brother.

One that I won, but he kept refusing to acknowledge because I was apparently cheating. How was I supposed to know that I had a natural talent for throwing balls and shoving rival players out of my way with my shoulders?

The flying fruit was caught easily by Sinbad, which surprised me. Even if I didn't hurl it with all my might, I thought for sure that he was too focused on listening in on Morgiana and Aladin that he wouldn't even notice the food coming at him. I watched as his face turned to grimace at the squished pear on his hand, he turned to look at me without taking his pressed ear away from the cup.

I looked away from Sinbad and tried not to pout like a petulant child. How is it possible for someone to chide you just by the look in their eyes? He might as well have told me that I was being a brat.

Sinbad threw the fruit over his shoulder, accidentally hitting Ja'far with it in the face. I stifled a giggle at that. The white haired guy glared at Sin who was wiping his dirty hand on his clothes, most likely staining it forever too. Ja'far in turn got up with the fruit, abandonning his position to throw it away. He walked towards me and I thought that he would yell at me, but instead he opened the window shutter; allowing the moonlight to light him up as he threw it out of the window.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw his face express surprise. Curious I moved to look out the window, but instead my wrist was grabbed by the white haired man and dragged away from the wall. The sudden force made me drop the bowl of fruits I was holding and I watched as it fell to the ground.

An explosion followed afterwards.

* * *

><p>AN:<p>

Hi guys! Sorry for the late update and short chapter! I planned for this chapter to be longer, but I had too much school work to finish and therefore, couldn't work as much as I would have liked on it. Since I promised to update at least once a month, this is for April. I'll update again at around the end of May.

Also, I know that Claire is more useless than pre-dungeon Hakuryuu. It's been planned like that. Nobody knows her full potential (besides me, obviously) and Claire just came fresh from our world. She's been only in the Magi world for three days and she's never really been in any great danger. She's never been prepared for anything like the Magi world and her mother only thought her self-defense just in case some random person decided to assault her (which as we see in the previous chapter, helped her out a great deal). She's not a master like her mother. She's not a master at anything at all.

But for those thinking that she's super useless, please be patient. Rome didn't become an empire over-night, Claire certainly wouldn't be kickass in the blink of an eye.

That would be all! Thanks for those who watched, followed and reviewed! Please look forward to the next chapter! Shit's about to go down!

Oh yeah, I know this is too early for me to announce, but I'm planning to make my own webcomic in the future. I actually already have a couple stories plotted out, all I gotta do is write the script and start drawing! Aside from school and work, this is one of the reasons why Adventures of Claire Hawkins takes a while to update.

Claire and her brother are side characters in one of the stories. I hope you guys would be interested enough in seeing Claire in an Original story too, even if due to her different background she became a different person, she's still Claire.

Uhmmmmm yeah...


	6. Man on Fire

Chapter 06: Man on fire

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><p>I wanted to laugh.<p>

A loud hysterical laugh that could be heard for miles. Honestly, I don't know what's going on anymore. I just want to scream and ask what the bloody fucking hell is wrong with all these people.

After the explosion made a hole through the wall, a bunch of guys came aiming freaking crossbows and swords at everyone.

Crossbows and swords.

I thought that it was a part of a gig, a really stupid one that involved a lot of property damage. It wasn't until someone fired an arrow and blood had been spilled that I snapped out of my tiny bubble I surrounded myself in.

It couldn't be that I became part of a terrorist attack right? I know there was a bunch of rich people here, it was supposedly a five star hotel after all.

I was lucky to be close to Ja'far. He had whipped out some weird knives, which looked like arrow heads, hidden inside his sleeves with a red thread tied to his arms. He flung it at an attacker that tried to come closer to us, stabbing him on the arm before pulling the knife back. In one swift movement he continued to stab and slice through people while making his way to Sinbad and Masrur. The other two were fending off some other guys. I caught Sinbad snatching a sword from one of the attacker and Masrur fling a guy twice his body weight over his shoulder.

That's when I realised that they were really badass. I'm pretty sure that Masrur was a martial arts master; I'd like to ask him for some tips when I get the chance, Sinbad knew how to fight with swords; which is really cool. Ja'far… well I think he's a bit of a psychopath. Who in their right mind would hide knives inside their sleeves anyway.

The white haired man screamed something at me. Of course I didn't understand, even without the language barrier between us, I wouldn't have heard him over the panicked screams of the patrons and the terrorists trying to hurt us. It was pure chaos. I did pick up a word from his shouting. It was the word that made me want to kill Kassim.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw some men heading for the stairs. I dodged a guy that wanted to grab my arm, only to have an asshole take advantage of my hair. I cried out in pain as he pulled at it.

Bloody hell. This hurt more than when that old guy grabbed my hair a few days ago, at least he wasn't trying to haul me across the room by my hair. This asshole certainly was.

My mind completely went blank and the martial arts that my mother thought me was forgotten. I was in a shock. It was probably because of my surroundings. When the old man down the street grabbed me, it was expected. I was calm and prepared. But now my environment was pure chaos and I didn't have time to _think_. It's like my mind was still trying to process that I currently found myself in the middle of an attack.

My eyes was wandering all over the room. Taking in the fact that Sinbad and Ja'far were maiming people. The patrons were terrified and were dragged away from the room. Blood was spilled and people died.

The pain on my scalp made me to focus. I couldn't hit the guy clutching my hair with my elbows and I couldn't come near him. He made sure that he kept his distance from me. This meant that he had done this more than once and learned his lesson when someone elbowed him.

Damn it all.

The sound of bones snapping rang through my ears and the burning pain on my head ceased. I looked behind me to see Masrur lift the man and throw him aside. I blinked my gratitude at him and he gave a slight nod in return.

My heart was pounding fast from the adrenaline and I tried my best to calm down. To be honest, I just wanted to sit down in a corner and cry. Hide and wait until everything was over.

Sinbad came out of nowhere, with his stolen sword and clashing with anyone who dared to swing a blade at him. He looked up after kicking some poor sod in the gut and gave me a grin. This guy was enjoying himself too much, maybe he's more of a psycho than Ja'far. At least the white haired guy had a calm face as he sliced someone thoat with his weapon.

Alright Ja'far is officially creeping me out. It looked like he had killed someone numerous times and wasn't phased by death anymore. He caught my eyes and gave me a reassuring smile.

I tried to smile back.

Sinbad spoke and I turned my attention to him. I blinked as he pointed at the roof with a grin.

I looked up just in time to see Masrur looming over me. The red head picked me up easily with one arm like I was a sack full of potatoes and hefted me between his arm and waist.

I felt a slight jolt of movement and my stomach drop. Before I knew it the cold night air blew at my face, making me gasp. Masrur just jumped through the roof.

Through the freaking roof.

What is with this guy?! I knew he's freaking muscular and can throw a guy twice -no- four times his body size over his shoulder as if it was nothing, but jumping up so high and fast he was able to make a hole through the roof? Jesus freaking Christ, this guy was definitely not normal.

Masrur had not let go of me yet and I watched as Sinbad and Ja'far appear beside the mascular man; they too had jumped up. These guys were definitely not human, maybe they're mutants and had super powers? Like the guys from X-men.

I tried not to scoff at my imagination, of course that's not possible. Super heroes didn't exist. But if they did, they would be a bunch of guys like Batman, Ironman, the Black Widow or Hawkeye. People who used technology and weapons, not super powers.

I looked around and noticed that we were surrounded, but the people was far from the overconfident bunch at the beginning. Some of them were fearful when they saw Sinbad, most of them looked like they were ready to jump from the roof to escape the trio and relieve their bowels at the same time. I also saw Aladin, Morgiana and Kassim.

Kassim was on the other side of the roof and looked panicked, not the calm and slightly arrogant person that I met a few days ago. As a matter of fact, what is he doing here? He couldn't be part of the terrorist group, right? He might be a bit of an asshole, taking advantage of a foreigner by teaching them wrong words, but that didn't mean he was a bad person. Just an asshole.

"Ka-" I shut my mouth.

Masrur had suddenly moved. I blinked and swallowed my saliva, I found myself on the other side of the flat rooftop. Behind us, the floor was littered with guys lying on the ground and writhing in pain. Masrur had pushed them aside through sheer speed and dragged me along because he was still carrying me.

I gave a small whimper. It had felt like I was on a rollercoaster ride, a really fast one that dropped from a hundred meter high and looped three times before stopping. I hate rollercoasters, which was why I rarely go to amusement parks. I went last year to Disneyland in Paris with my family and Monique. I planned to just enjoy the scenery and take pictures with the princesses and other characters, but Monique blackmailed me into accompanying her in the hunted hotel from the Twiligth Zone -I forgot what it was called- but either way I hated every second I spent there.

I wanted to barf, but tried my best not to. If I opened my mouth, I would puke on Masrur's leg, and now that I knew what he was capable of, I didn't dare.

The red head calmly walked back to Sinbads side who looked at me with a sheepish smile and a silent apology. Most likely. My vision was starting to blur and I lay limp on Masrurs' arm. I felt like I'm dying and I groaned to signal my distress.

Masrur shifted and blinked at me, as if realising for the first time that he had a passenger with him. Ja'far proceeded to scold the taller man while he placed me gently on the floor. Instantly, like an overprotective mother, Ja'far was at my side and rubbing circles on my back. Maybe he's not a cold blooded murderer after all. It could be that this was just a front though. Act like a caring mother to lull his victims into fasle security before slitting their throats.

Either way, I don't give a fuck anymore.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I notice Aladin and Morgiana coming over as Sinbad proceeded to talk to Kassim and a blond guy. I ignored the discussion to focus on the only person that could understand me. "Aladin, what's going on?"

"Sinbad just offered to join a group of thieves," he stated with a slight smile. "But more importantly, are you alright? You look a bit green."

I stared at him long and hard. Did he just say what I think he did or was the dizziness not only affecting my stomach, but my hearing as well. "Wait, what? Did you just say Sin wanted to join a group of thieves?" As in the terrorists with the freaking crossbows and swords?!

Aladin nodded.

I sighed. I don't care anymore. Everyone here was absolutely crazy. Morgiana with her strength -don't think I forgot her little tantrum-, Aladin with his calmness in this kind of situation and of course let's not forget the Powerpuff Girls; Sinbad, Masrur and Ja'far. They'd have the correct colour scheme if Sin decided to wear more blue.

Ja'far stopped rubbing circles on my back and screamed something at Sinbad, most likely something about joining the group of thieves that tried to abduct everyone in the hotel. I refrained myself from smiling. Looks like I'm not the only one who thinks this was all a load of bullshit. Thank goodness.

I watched as Ja'fars face fell while he talked with the violet haired man. Sinbad had guilt talked him into something, I'm sure of it. Monique did that a lot to me. She can be very persuasive if she wanted to. She'd make a great politician or businesswoman in the future.

There were more words exchanged between the blo-

Wait a second.

I squinted my eyes. It was hard to see with the moonlight being the only source of light, but as he moved between Sinbad and the group of thieves, my thoughts had been confirmed.

His clothes were different and he looked less like a ditz with his brow furrowed in frustration, but I'm pretty sure that the blond haired guy who pulled a curved dagger from its sheathe was Alibaba. How could I forget that weird piece of hair sticking out of his head like a horn, the red thin rope wrapped around his neck and the mismatched shoes he was wearing. He was such a fashion disaster that I felt bad for him.

Alibaba spoke and holy shit. The guy fucking summoned a tornado of fire. I looked around in a panic as the flames licked his skin. Why was I the only one who was worried about a guy burning to a crisp?! "Aladin!"

Wait, why am I asking a little boy to help anyway. Water! We need water! The fire continued to rise up high in the sky, the group of thieves were staring in awe while Sinbad and the others stared impassively.

God damnit, now even a drop and roll action wouldn't help this guy. I looked down at the palm of my hands and bit back a frustrated cry. Why didn't Aladin or Morgiana help the guy? I thought they were his friends.

"It's alright, you don't need to worry," Aladin spoke, his eyes not leaving the scene in front of him.

The heat vanished and the flames subsided. Alibaba stood, determined and pointing his weapon at Sinbad. He was unscathed, not even his clothes were singed.

I gaped. Was I dreaming? There's no way someone could survive that. But I felt the heat of the fire and pain when the guy from earlier pulled my hair. You weren't supposed to feel any pain in dreams right? Everything seemed so real but surreal at the same time, what else could this be but a dream?

Of course.

There's no other explanation. I am dreaming a really long and weird dream. When I wake up, I'd be in the hotel room I shared with my brother and we would return together to London.

I took a deep breath and calmed down.

Alibaba began attacking Sin, who dodged calmly, as if he wasn't being assaulted by someone who was on fire only moments before. Sinbad was able to get behind the blond and hit him at the back of his neck. Alibaba fell face first on the floor and Kassim called out to him.

Again, they began talking. For some reason, Ja'far flipped out. He walked over to Kassim and pointed the tip of his weapon near the terrified guy's adams apple. "Aladin, why did Ja'far do that?"

The young boys' eyes didn't leave the scene as Sinbad calmed the enraged white haired man. "He insulted Sinbad."

"I see..." Note to self; don't insult Sinbad in front of Ja'far, even if this was nothing but my mind playing tricks on me.

The problems seemed to solve itself as Alibaba stepped in. He talked some more with Sinbad who grinned in victory. "What did he say?" I wish that I could understand their language. Why am I dreaming in a different language anyway.

"Alibaba allowed Sinbad into the Fog Troupe."

"Why would he need Alibaba's approval to join a band of thieves?"

Aladin sighed. I wonder if he's getting fed up with explaining everything to me. Of course he is, I'd get fed up if I have to explain everything to someone.

"That's because Alibaba is the leader of the thieves," I could feel my eyes widen in surprise. Was he serious? No way could Alibaba lead a bunch of ruthless people on a heist. If I remember from the first volume of Magi correctly, he was too much of a dork and too kind hearted to be in that line of work. He might be an incredibly greedy person and a bad influence on the young Aladin, but the blue haired boy trusted him. But then again I was only dreaming. Maybe I wanted Alibaba to be cooler in my dreams because I didn't find him interesting enough in the manga. "Well he's more of a pseudo leader if anything," added Aladin.

I tried not to laugh. Of course he was. "Then who's the real leader?" Is he even here?

Aladin pointed at the person behind Alibaba.

No way. Surely Aladin was pointing at a man behind Kassim. "You mean, Kassim?"

Please say no.

"You know him?"

"Yeah..."

I wonder why I didn't want him to be the leader. I shouldn't care since he's just a figment of my imagination. They all were.

Aladin finally deigned me worthy enough to look at and asked "What do you think of him?"

What do I think of him? He's certainly a cunning git, an intimidating person and a chain smoker. He's very kind but misunderstood. "He's not a bad person."

Aladin gave a smile and held my hand, pulling me in the direction of his friend Alibaba with Morgiana in tow. It seemed that everything has calmed down. People were walking down the stairs or just jumping to the next roof.

Sinbad was being scolded by Ja'far and Masrur watched them with a blank expression. Alibaba was talking with Kassim, well more like they were having a silent spat. There was a lady beside Kassim helping a big burly guy stand.

Alibaba looked up as he noticed Aladin approach. He gave Morgiana and the younger boy a wide, slightly forced smile and a curious stare at me.

I gave a small smile in return. Kassim was staring at me with a raised eyebrow, as if wondering what the hell I was doing here. I wanted to slap him. He knew that I was staying in this hotel, and yet he chose to attack it. I glared at him instead; if I was a cat I would most certainly be hissing at him too. And also claw his eyes out.

He smirked in return before patting Alibaba on the shoulder. He whispered something in the blonds ear which made him blush a bright red.

I narrowed my eyes. Huh, I wonder what lewd things he's saying.

Either way, I should greet him properly. The way he thought me. "Kassim," I said with a forced smile that I hope looked charming. "Fuck you."

Everybody stared.

Kassim's stare darkened. I tried not to gulp and show how nervous I was. What would he do? Will he order his troupe to kill me off? The subordinates closest to him were glaring daggers at me. If Kassim wasn't my cause of death, then those two certainly will be.

Why am I even worried. This is all a dream, something miraculous will happen to save me from trouble.

Before anyone could attack me, Kassim let out a loud laugh. The kind of laugh that would make you piss because you couldn't control your body anymore. See, a miracle happened. Kassim tried to say something between his giggling.

I turned to Aladin. "He said it really was a good idea to teach you that," The blue haired boy blinked and realisation sparked in his eyes. "And that he should have thought you a lewd song too because he's sure that it would sound funny with your accent."

I huffed and placed my hands on my hips and gave Kassim a stronger glare. The charming grin he gave me made me sigh and relent. "Can you tell him that I know exactly what that word meant?"

Kassim's grin became wider as Aladin relayed the message. The older of the two told the blue haired boy something that made Morgiana blink in confusion, Alibaba sputter and his two subordinates exchange grins.

The young boy turned to me. "Kassim wanted to ask if you're single."

"What." That came out of the blue. What the hell. I knew I had a thing for bad boys -hell, every girl has- but I didn't think my mind would do something like this to me.

Aladin sighed and opened his mouth to repeat what he said earlier. Being a translator sure sucked. I stopped him with a shake of my head. "Scratch that. Ask him why he wanted to know." I shouldn't just assume things even if this was just a dream.

As Aladin once again turned to me to give the answer to my question, he shot a pitying look at Alibaba. It was fleeting and I almost didn't catch it, but it was there.

"Ah. He wanted to hook you up with Alibaba," I stared at Kassim. What the fuck. Was he really trying to play cupid? He didn't seem the type, at all. "Because apparently, Alibaba had never had a girlfriend before. He's just not popular with girls and as his best friend, he should help him experience the touch of a woman."

I shot Alibaba a stare. He looked like he was on the verge of tears and acted more and more like the guy from the manga. Wow, my brain really made sure he stayed in character. Morgiana was hovering over him worriedly, unsure of what to do. "Why didn't he ask Mor?" I questioned Aladin.

"Because he didn't know she existed, you're more amusing and that Alibaba needed a mature woman who knows what she's doing. Well assuming that you've been in a relationship before."

I sighed. Of course I've been in a couple relationships before. Hell, I just got over my boyfriend a few weeks before I came here. That guy broke up with me saying that I have trust issues.

"Sure." It's not like I haven't been on a couple pity dates before. In fact one of my best relationships started with a pity date. We learned to really like one another, but sadly he had to move to another country. We tried to have a long distance relationship, but it just wasn't the same. I often wondered if we would still be together if he stayed in London.

Kassim grinned at my answer and turned to Alibaba to tell him the good news. The blond in turn stared at me before bursting something that made Kassim blink in surpise and step back.

"What is he saying, Aladin?"

"He said that if he's ever going to be in a relationship, it would be with _the one_. The person who he'll love for all eternity and give the world to."

In other words, not some random stranger that he only met a few minutes ago? Wise choice.

"Awwww, that's really romantic of him," And incredibly naive. Didn't he know that people rarely stayed with their first sweetheart? "It's fine if he doesn't want to be in a relationship with me. I just hope for him that he'll be able to find his one true love." Plus, I don't really want to date a guy I barely knew, dream or no dream.

Aladin relayed the message. Kassim sighed in disappointment and was about to say something when Sinbad appeared and barged into the conversation. Annoyed Kassim looked over at his friends and left.

Sinbad didn't try to stop them. I couldn't find Ja'far or Masrur anywhere, which was really odd since I've never seen Sin without someone hovering beside or behind him.

"Sinbad said that we're moving into the thieve's headquarters. The damage to the hotel was too severe to continue staying in the same place."

I didn't need to look around to know that. Our rooms had been completely demolished and there were guards flocking into the scene. A bit late if you asked me, but hey, it's not like my imagination created any cars for them to travel with.

* * *

><p>The headquarters was a former light house filled with people from the slums. Apparently, the Fog Troupe mostly consisted of them. Aladin explained to me on the way that the group of thieves were stealing from the rich and giving it to the poor and that it was the first time they tried to take hostages earlier. Basically, they were a bunch of Robin Hoods without the green tights.<p>

The four of us, Aladin, Alibaba, Morgiana and I, were sleeping in the same room. The blond explained that they didn't have enough rooms to give us individually. I had absolutely no problem with this arrangement. I don't feel comfortable being alone in this tower, even if the people we met on the way were kind to us. They were still a group of criminals.

The blond had spread a thin matress on the floor, big enough to accomodate two adults but barely large enough for us four to sleep on.

I wanted to complain but decided not to. Honestly, why did my brain want to torture me so much?

Alibaba fell asleep as soon as his head hit his pillow. Aladin told me that he had a busy day ahead of him, that he was going to try and convince the king to treat the people from the slums better.

That's more like the Alibaba that I read in the manga about. Though I still find it hard to believe that he was royalty. When I told the young blue haired boy this, he broke into a grin and said something along the lines of "Yeah, he really doesn't act princely. But he's going to be a great king one day, I just know it."

I slept between Morgiana and Aladin. I wouldn't say that it was a peaceful slumber. More than once, I woke up in the middle of the night to feel pressure on my chest. What I found was Alibaba sprawled on the mattress we were sleeping on, hogging all the blankets and his foot resting between my ribs.

I could smell his feet a little. I felt bad for Morgiana sleeping close to me and hugging my arm to conserve warmth. Her face was directly in front of his feet. Considering the fact that she had a heightened sense of smell, it's a wonder she still hasn't woken up.

I honestly wished that I woke up in my own hotel room when I smelled his feet. It was kind of weird to be sleeping in a dream and dreaming in said dream. I wrinkled my nose, that just made me think of Inception. I still don't understand the ending to that movie.

I tried my best to move Alibabas foot away from me without waking anyone. I was sucessful the first time, but the second time, I woke Aladin up. The little boy shot up from his sleep to look at me with bleary eyes. His gaze wandered to Morgiana cuddling my numb arm before returning to my face. With a bright sleepy smile, he moved to occupy my other arm.

Shit.

The little boy mumbled something and gave a small sweet smile. How cute! I didn't have the heart to shake him off. I sighed tiredly and let him use me as a pillow.

The third time I woke up, I wasn't able to move any of my arms to remove Alibabas feet that was slowly inching it's way towards my face.

What a wonderful night it was.

* * *

><p>The day passed by without any incident. Aladin, Morgiana and I walked around Balbadd while we waited for Alibaba to return.<p>

The little boy was silent and seemed to have a lot in his mind lately, but I didn't bother to ask him about it. It started when we were waiting outside the castle like the rest of the common folks, when a guy with incredibly long black hair passed us in the crowds. He had looked at us briefly and I caught a look at his eyes. They were a blood red. Not like warm red eyes like Morgiana or Masrur with a hint of pink in them. No, that guy had eyes that screamed "psychopath" for anyone who cared to take a long look.

After that, Aladin had been in deep thought.

When night fell and Alibaba returned to the headquarters, he brought with him bad news. Apparently, his brother didn't even listen to him as he talked. Never even acknowledged him as a sibling even if they only shared their father's blood.

What a cruel person. I seriously wanted to punch that guy. It felt personal when Alibaba explained that. My older brother and I were only related by blood through our father too, but that never bothered us. It really made me sad when he left for University. I wish he just stayed at home instead of deciding to become an artist. Damn, mother flipped out when she found out what he wanted to major in. That was a very scary day.

Aladin explained to me that Sinbad announced that Alibaba was going to have a speech. Alibaba needed to explain what happened to the people eagerly awaiting him.

I stood on the sidelines and watched what was happening, everyone looked down when the blond began to speak. Their hopes must have been crushed. But the moment Sinbad opened his mouth, everyone looked up at him as if he was a guiding light. An angel sent from heaven to save them all. He was that good at giving a prep talk.

As people gathered around the purple haired man, I felt a chill crawl up my spine. Something big was going to happen. I looked up as a voice called Sinbad's name. It was the man that we saw earlier. The one with long black hair that was only a few centimeters off the floor.

He was standing on a flying carpet and grinning down at us all. His stare made me feel uncomfortable, it's as if he regarded us all as nothing but ants he was going to step on. The young man jumped from the carpet and I tried my best not to get distracted by his six packs.

Damn it, he's hot.

It's like my imagination pulled everything I find appealing on a man and dumped everything on this single guy. Charming grin, hot body, long dark hair and asian features. Yes, I have a thing for asians. Most likely because I wasn't over Fen yet. He was the guy that I liked so much I cried my eyes out when he had to move back to his home country. I thought I was over him when I began dating Alex. I guess not.

I twirled a piece of hair between my fingers as the dark haired man interacted with Sinbad as if they were old friends. I wonder if he's funny too. I really liked the smile that lights his face. It made him really cute. Of course prince charming had to be an asshole. No one can be perfect after all, even in dreams.

I glared at the guy while helping the poor Aladin up.

He looked like he was offering his friendship to the blue haired boy, but he punched the Aladin in the eye instead. Bloody hell, I have never been so pissed before. No matter how hot a he looked and no matter how much he'd made me drool over those perfect six packs, if they hit a little defenseless child -no- if they used violence on anyone, that instantly striked them from my list of people I'd want to date.

"Are you alright, Aladin?"

I asked the young boy. He looked at me in surprise as if he'd seen me for the first time. "Claire, you need to get out of this room. Make sure that he doesn't see you!"

"What? Why? What do you mean?"

"What's this?" I looked up at the black haired guy hovering above us. "I never thought I'd ever have any use for this language, but I'm glad that those guys taught it to me."

I blinked in surprise. He had a heavy accent, but I'm sure that he's speaking in my language. "You… you're speaking in English!" I said, overjoyed. I momentarily forgot that he was an asshole. Finally, someone else can understand me!

* * *

><p>AN: Here's the may update guys!<p>

Thank you for being patient with me. I had a bunch of test and essays to finish this month. It's almost summer vacation after all.

On a side note, expect chapters to start becoming longer! I found out about google drive and now I write on my phone while I commute to school and work. It takes me an hour to get to work, so that's a lot of time :D

Anyway, we find out that Claire is a mature young lady. To those curious, she's been in three relationships since she was fourteen. Two months with her unamed first boyfriend, more than a year with Fen and a few months with Alex who broke up with her cause she has trust issues. She's around seventeen right now.

Thanks to everyone who left such kind reviews on the previous chapter and everyone who follow and favourite this story!

Ah yes, anyone willing to leave some british slangs are welcome! I'm not from britain and only chose that place because I wanted her to be european. She was originally supposed to be french, but I knew even less about the french people OTL.

Also, do you guys prefer the spelling Judar or Judal? Because on my copy of Magi, it's spelled as Judar while on the character filter thingie here it's spelled as Judal.


	7. Psychopaths

Chapter 07: Psychopaths

* * *

><p>My eyes widened. 'Well, that escalated quickly,' I thought as I ducked behind a pillar. Ice shards dug deep into the stone shaking it slightly upon impact. I cringed, had the psycho flung them harder, I would have definitely been skewered like shish kebab.<p>

I looked at my aching arm. Blood was running down a deep and long cut that started between my shoulder and ended near my elbow, I groaned as I noticed the ice shard the size of Aladin's flute stuck in it. I pulled it out with a wince. The blood that began dripping from my arm was warm, a stark contrast to the coldness that slowly numbed my nerves.

Hissing in pain I tried to stop the blood flow by clutching it with my hand. It wasn't working at all, and if I looked really closely at the wound, I can see the muscle tissues inside. This will definitely leave a scar and I wont ever be able to go out wearing sleeveless shirts in summer anymore. People will start asking questions if I got mugged or belonged to the local gangsters.

I'd most likely go with the excuse of getting mugged, it was closed enough to my current situation. It's not like I can tell people that some insane guy with hair that rivaled Rapunzel in length started flying in the air like a freaking bird and bloody flung ice everywhere. That will definitely earn me a white jacket and a free trip to the nearest mad house. That is, if I survived this. If I die now, I won't have to worry about those. I don't want to die through.

It's said that "Live fast die young; bad girls do it well." I'm not a bad girl. Nope. I'll definitely live past my eighties, maybe even reach the hundreds if I started eating healthier and stopped getting in situations such as these.

Well, now that I think about it, this is a one time only experience. There aren't a lot of psychos out there like Judar.

I hope.

Ah, I'm rambling. I think the bloodloss's starting to get to me.

Aladin was right in telling me to stay away from that psychopath. I thought back on how our -somewhat- peaceful conversation turned into this as I leaned on the safety of the pillar while taking deep and calming breaths.

"My name is Judar and I am the Magi of the Kou Empire. Won't you come with me? Those old geezers will be overjoyed to find out that I found you."

I had no idea who those geezers were that he was talking about, but rest assured, I took my mother's warning about following strangers to heart. Sinbad was an exception through.

"Thanks for the offer, but no," was my answer. Even if I was happy that I can finally speak with someone else in this dream, I can't forget that he punched a little boy in the face.

"Come on," he whined with his heavy accent. It sounded really funny, but kind of charming too. Hey, I have a weakness to accents, who doesn't? Judar stomped his feet on the ground and I raised my eyebrow while crossing my arms. Wow, what a child. How old did he think he was; five?

The actual little boy puffed his bandaged covered chest and stood straighter in the hopes of appearing taller. How cute. "Didn't you hear her? She said no." God bless Aladin for standing up for me, but at the same time, I wish he didn't open his mouth to argue with Judar.

"Back off, short stuff. The adults are talking." The Judar growled with narrowed eyes.

After that, they lapsed into their own language, confusing me even more with their open animosity towards each other. I understood why Aladin was pissed at Judar, he did get punched after all. Who wouldn't be angry at someone who attacked them?

On the other hand, I don't know why Judar did that in the first place. One moment he was smiling charmingly at Aladin, offering his hand to shake, and half a second later, he punched the little boy on the face. Who the bloody hell does that anyway. Was he bipolar? That would definitely explain the constant change in mood swings.

I looked around me to see Morgiana and Alibaba following the conversation with interest. Sinbad on the other hand, was staring at me as if he hadn't seen me until now. I raised an eyebrow at him as he muttered something to Ja'far.

A sudden laugh from Judar made me return my attention to him and not Sinbad and Ja'far. The black haired guy took out a silver stick from within his black shirt that only reached his chest. It could also have been hidden by the white piece of clothe hanging around his shoulders. Either way, it must have been uncomfortable to hide it there. He pointed the stick at the blue haired boy. The red crystal on the end of it began to glow and I can see a bunch of glowing birds surrounding him.

A chill run down my spine as whispered words echoed in my mind. "_Gather. Gather together."_

I looked around nervously, trying to see if someone else heard it. No one did. "Uhhh..." The words sounded like it came right out of a horror movie. There were the voices of children murmuring it, mixed with that of older men, women and everything in between. I would have screamed bloody murder if they sounded like they were suffering, but thankfully, they sounded overjoyed to gather, what ever that meant.

In a flash, Judar threw a glowing ball of light towards Aladin. The little boy whipped out the wooden staff that he carried around and formed a sphere of light to surround him and anyone close to his vicinity; namely Alibaba, Morgiana and I.

"_Protect them. Protect the Magis."_

The voices again. "Magis…?" I murmured, glancing at the little boy in front of me. They said Magis, as in plural. Did this mean that there was more than one? I only knew Aladin, who was the other one?

Aladin started to collect light and the same birds began to surround him. Once he was satisfied with the size -that of a large watermelon- he threw it towards Judar, who in turn, created the same sphere as the little boy. The older of the two looked slightly baffled before he grinned maliciously at Aladin.

Somehow, the smell of a storm began to surround Judar as he began to glow purple. Electricity surrounded him before they focused on the red diamond of his wand.

"This dream is getting out of hand." I told myself as Judar flung lightning towards Aladin. I covered my eyes at the dust and debris. I sure hope that Aladin was alright. When I opened them once again, I found myself behind the blue headless giant Aladin called his friend.

I shook my head. When will I wake up? Surely I've been asleep for a whole day now. Was I in a coma? Did I slip down a hill when I was hiking?

Hiking…I followed a glowing bird, the same one floating around right now and found myself in the middle of nowhere, where I met Aladin, Morgiana and Sinbad, but I don't remember my walk there. It was like something was blocking my memory of how I got to that place. I put my hand on my forehead at the sudden headache I got.

Why couldn't I remember?

"You think this is a dream?" Judar asked with a raised eyebrow.

I shot him a wry expression and ignored the throbbing in my head. "Of course it is. There's no way magic is real," I looked around and my eyes landed on Morgiana, Aladin and Alibaba. "There's no way any of you could be real." Everyone was only a figment of my imagination.

Aladin looked hurt at my words, making me shift in guilt. If the others understood what I was saying, I'm sure that they would feel the same way as the little boy too. Who liked being told that they weren't real?

No one.

Judar laughed. "This is the best! Hahahaha!" After calming himself down, he gave me a mischievous look. "Let me show you how real this _dream _can be."

I scowled at him. I did not like the way he stressed out a certain word. Anxiously, I watched as he floated in the sky, pointing the wand up in the heavens. The whispers were getting muddled and I tried my best to ignore them.

The birds started to appear out of thin air once again. I looked around to see what the reactions of the people were. They didn't seem to be doing anything else except gape at Judar floating gleefully in the sky.

Yeah. I'm definitely dreaming. No way can someone fly. There's a thing called gravity that bound everyone on earth after all. "Balbadd is a city of fog. I have all the water I need to perform my special magic!"

"_Gather and transform. Liquify. Harden. Be cold. Spread."_

I watched in fascination as tiny little shards of ice gathered at the tip of the red crystal adorning his wand. Slowly, they began to build one large ice shard. The psycho swung his arm to the side and the shard split like a peeled banana. There were now a bunch of ice shards floating around, pointing in every direction.

Judar didn't bother to aim. The shards sped past Aladin and towards the people standing behind us. The common folk behind us gave out a scream. Those hit directly became encased in ice, the walls were they landed got the same fate as well.

Aladin rode on top Ugos' shoulder, and together, they attacked Judar. The dark haired young man aimed several icicles at the giant who swatted them as if they were nothing but pesky flies. Too bad they were just shattered into smaller pieces and landed else where, incapicitating some unfortunate people behind the giant. One of those unfotunate folks was me.

Once the pain registered and I realised that I found myself in a dangerous situation by standing dumbly in the middle of a freaky battlefield of magic, I ran to the nearest pillar and hid there.

That was where I was now, crouching and rocking back and forth, ignoring the pain as hard as I could. I was beginning to get dizzy from the bloodloss, maybe I shouldn't have taken out the shard in the first place, but what am I supposed to do? If I hadn't pulled it out, I would have definitely died of hyperthermia, but now I might die because of bloodloss.

Either way, I was screwed.

"Do you still think this is a dream, Claire?!" Yelled Judar as another bout of icicles tried to pierce the pillar. I can tell that I was slowly being surrounded by ice, I could feel the cold and I see my breath come out in puffs of smoke.

I would have liked to answer "No, I still think this is a huge fucking farce", but that would have been a huge lie. I was in too much pain for this to be a dream.

"Leave her alone!" Aladin screamed back, just as a loud noise resounded through the area.

I dared to peak out of my hiding place just in time to see the blue giant hit the dark haired man. The shield appeared once again to save the guy and even from this distance, me on the floor and the pscho still up in the sky, I could see that Judar was absolutely pissed. "You fucking midget!"

Judar swung his wand and the icicles aimed themselves at Aladin, Ugo quickly moved to shield the little boy from harm, injuring himself in the process. I squinted my eyes, I'm starting to see double and my head was throbbing. There were so many voices in my head.

So many and all of them kept saying the same thing at the moment. "_Protect the Magis."_

I wanted to scream for them to shut up. I didn't know why I have to protect the Magis, why I was the one who was supposed to do it and how was I even supposed to protect Aladin when all I can do was cower behind a slowly crumbling pillar. Who was the other Magi? Was it Judar? Hell no am I going near that guy.

A hand on my shoulder made me gasp in surprise and focus on the person suddenly crouching beside me. It was a pretty woman with long dreadlocks and a piercing on her lower lip. I have a feeling that I've seen her somewhere before. She gave a smile, but that smile wasn't reassuring at all.

She grabbed my wrist and pointed a sword at me. Red mist started to appear around me.

I closed my eyes with a smile. Somehow everything felt wonderful.

* * *

><p>Morgiana smiled as she handed the blanket to the last person that got hurt in the process of the attack from the citizens of Kou. She wondered how many would have been left unharmed had the princess not appeared out of nowhere to save the black haired guy called Judar from death. She had ordered three of her subjects to "Clean up" after she had destroyed Ugo with her hair accessory, which turned into a sword, when she found out that everyone was on Ugo's side from Aladin.<p>

Thinking about it made her clench her fist. Her opponent was incredibly fast, she barely had a chance against him even with the help of Ja'far. Masrur was having trouble with his own opponent, just like Alibaba. The princess also decided to join the fight, saying that Aladin's death was her to take. If it weren't for Sinbad deciding to step in, Morgiana was sure that everyone would have died at the hands of the Kou empire and the king of Balbadd wouldn't have cared less if that happened. He'd most likely be overjoyed since there were less people from the slums he had to worry about.

The man smiled back and thanked her profusely for the help. Morgiana nodded shyly, still not used to having someone express their gratitude for her assistance. It was overwhelming, but it gave her a good feeling, she just wished that she was strong enough to help out Aladin, Alibaba and Claire.

Aladin was knocked out cold, resting peacefully and Alibaba was most likely in his room. Claire on the other hand, she hadn't seen the odd girl anywhere since the attack.

Hefting a basin filled with water, Morgiana walked around, searching for people in need for her aid. On her way, she saw Sinbad talking to Ja'far and a moment later, Masrur appeared.

"I can't find her," Morgiana heard Masrur say thanks to her accute hearing.

"This is bad," Sinbad continued. "I hope that she hadn't been captured by them."

The red headed girl was about to walk away, the conversation had nothing to do with her and it was rude to eavesdrop, something that Jamil had pounded into her when she was young. She should look for Alibaba and ask him if he needed help and then she can look for Claire.

"Morgiana," Sinbad called out, making her stop and look back to find the men walking over to her. "Have you seen Claire around?"

"No, I have not," she responded. Sinbad sighed and rubbed his head with one hand while the other rested on his hips. He looked very troubled. "Is there something I can do to help?"

"As a matter of fact," Sinbad began as he gave her a smile. "You've been with Claire for a long time now, correct?" Upon her nod, the man continued. "Then you must know how she smells by now. You see, Masrur here can't find her and we're very worried about her well being."

Morgiana frowned in thought, thinking back on when she sat beside Claire, listening with her to weird music that came out of a small bud that she had to put in her ear. It was the closest she had been with the older girl.

"My apologies," she said after a long pause "but even when I'm standing close to her, I cannot smell her." It was weird, it was as if the older girl wasn't even there to begin with, as if she belonged to the environment, melting with the world and all its noise and smell. The only way that she could even know that she was there was because of her eyes and ears. Claire made as much noise as everyone else.

"I see," Sinbad said, "Well, if you see her, tell her to come and find me. We have a lot to talk about."

"Yes," Morgiana muttered while she watched Sinbad walk away, presumably to the room he was currently staying at. Ja'far and Masrur followed after him as always.

The red haired girl tilted her head to the side wondering what Sinbad had to talk to Claire about. As far as she knew no one understood what Claire was saying aside from Aladin and the priest from Kou, Judar. How was Sinbad supposed to have a talk with her when Aladin was knocked out?

She wondered if the older man had forgotten about that tiny detail because of the hectic things that happened.

* * *

><p>When I first opened my eyes, everything was dark. I had thought that I still had my eyes closed. It wasn't a few moments later when they adjusted to the darkness that I realised that I found myself in a tiny dingy room. There was only a small hard bed as a furniture, the one I woke up in and was currently sitting on, and a locked door which looked like it would break down with a good kick.<p>

The room smelled awful and I resisted the urge to barf. It's like someone used the room as their personal bathroom and forgot to flush the toilet for several weeks. Yeah, that's how bad it was. I think the room wouldn't have been so disgusting if there was a window to let fresh air in.

I resisted the temptation to rub my throbbing arm as I shifted around the bed. It was bandaged sloppily with a hopefully clean rag. I hope beyond everything that my wound wouldn't get infected, but knowing my luck, I'll probably die in the next couple hours because of it. Pulling my knee up to my chest, I looked at the only light source of the room, the tiny slit beneath the door.

Contrary from what I said earlier, the door actually held its ground when I tried to kick it open. I do wonder who locked me inside this room. I hope that it wasn't that psycho Judar, anyone but him. I don't know what kind of cruel things he'd do to me, he reminded me too much of a spoiled child, and spoiled children tend to be one of the cruelest human beings there is.

A shadow appeared underneath the door, there was a muffled voice that sounded vaguely familiar. I squinted my eyes as light flooded the room from behind the person.

The door closed and I could see the guy better. "Kassim?" I murmured as my eyes adjusted to the candle light he was holding. The long dreadlocks confirmed that it was indeed Kassim. "Oh, thank God it's just you. I thought for sure I had been kidnapped by that lunatic Judar."

He grunted and placed a plate of bread and a glass of water on the ground. I raised my eyebrow at him, ignoring his offering in favor of standing up to follow him out of the door. However, I wasn't able to let a single foot out before he shoved me back inside the tiny, smelly room.

Was he kidding me? No way was I staying in this stinking room any longer than I have to. I knocked on the door, "Kassim? Open up, this isn't funny," I said, putting as much frustration in my voice to understand that I wanted out. I hadn't forgotten the language barrier, but I hope that he understood what I meant by the sound of my voice.

But the door didn't open. I pressed my head on the wood and listened in on what's going on outside. I could hear him talking to two people, the voices were muffled, but I'm sure that it was male and female.

I heard them laugh, making me narrow my eyes. Was this supposed to be a prank? I was in no mood for silly things. I just accepted the fact that I'm in a bloody different dimension, not a stupid convention and certainly not a bloody dream. All I wanted right now was to curl up in a bed, listen to some music and eat a ton of ice cream, maybe even talk to Aladin on what the fuck is going on. He's the Magi after all, he must know why I'm here.

I was on the verge of growling like a mad dog, but refrained myself when the laughter didn't stop. Instead, like the lady I was raised to be by my mother, I politely knocked on the door. "Kassim, can you let me out please?" I continued to knock until my knuckles began to hurt. Each tap on the door was followed by his name and my voice started to sound desperate by each second that passed.

The door swung abruptly, making me reel backwards to avoid getting hit. "Ka-" the name got stuck in my throat as the man swung his hand and slapped me on the face. His strike made me stumble to the side and fall on the dirty floor. Wide eyed and sweating coldly as my heart plummeted, I clutched my throbbing cheek as I held back my tears.

I remembered now, Aladin had explained to me that Kassim was the real leader of the Fog Troupe. I had almost forgotten because of the stupid psychopath Judar.

I've definitely been kidnapped by him, but why? What good was I? I have no real connections in this world, aside from Sinbad and Aladin. I highly doubt that Sinbad would waste money to save my sorry ass and Aladin was just a little boy with barely any money on him.

I stared into the eyes of my capturer and diverted them to the ground instantly, because standing in front of me was not the easy going chain smoker I met a few days ago with mistrustful and yet kind eyes. In front of me was a young man with ambitious eyes as cold as ice, someone who'd do anything to reach his goals. Even kill a person if needed.

Kassim sneered and closed the door. I stayed on the floor, my body still not responding from the shock of being slapped so hard. My lips trembled as I finally realised the situation I found myself in. I wasn't dreaming -Judar made sure to give me a harsh wake up call- but I was in an unknown place, kidnapped by someone I had thought of as a friend and I'm all alone in a dark room that smelled like piss and shit.

Can things get any worse?

* * *

><p>Kassim locked the door with an old rusty key. He placed it at a nearby hook hanging on the wall as he headed towards Hassan and Zainab.<p>

Hassan was a burly man with dreadlocks and a clothe covering his left eye. He got his face slashed by a drunken bastard when he was young, the large scar marring his visage was an obvious give away. However, even if he looked incredibly intimidating, once you got to know him, you'd realise that he was one of the kindest people out there.

He was in a deep whispered conversation with Zainab, a pretty spit fire of a woman who wouldn't hesitate to kick someone where it hurts the most if they looked at her the wrong way. Unless Hassan didn't get to them first.

The both of them were on and off lovers, it was really a pain for everyone involved once they had a spat. Kassim would know the best, since the two of them always came crawling to him for counsel. The young man didn't understand why they came to him of all the people because of their love problems, but he always tried his best to give the best advice, they were childhood friends after all.

"Kassim," Hassan began once he was within ear shot. "Is it really alright to kidnap a girl like her?"

Zainab raised an eyebrow, "You didn't have a problem when we planned to take the people at the hotel hostage," she pointed out with her hands on her hips.

Kassim lit a cigar as he listened to the explanation, "Well those were greedy bastards that squeezed out every last copper from us; the people of the slums," he began "but isn't she just some foreigners whore? What good will she be to us?"

The both of them looked at their leader and the mastermind of every plot the Fog Troupe had done. "She's not worth a single copper," he began "she's worth more than that. Our _benefactor_ want her for some reason, to the point where he'll give us more weapons _and _men to use in the coming war."

"What! No way, that little whore's that important to him?" Zainab gasped in astonishment.

Kassim nodded. "I don't know why and frankly, I don't care, but she's our ticket to victory." He didn't understand why she was worth so much. He knew that she traveled with that damned Sinbad, but he didn't think that it was the reason. His instincts told him that the reason _he _was interested in her was because she was some foreigner from a far away country. So far that she didn't know the language.

It was a good thing that he had mentioned her to their benefactor on their last meeting. Now that the Fog Troupe was divided, he needed the help more than ever.

Still, he couldn't help but wonder if she was indeed a runaway royalty. Those hands of hers were far too smooth to belong to even a whore. Even the top notched ones from the slums had to wash their own clothes.

"Kassim?" The tiny voice that called out his name made him look up from his thoughts in surprise. It was Sana peeking through a door.

He narrowed his eyes and let out a puff of smoke. "How did you find this place?" He asked as patiently as he could, gesturing for Hassan and Zainab to relax and put their weapon down.

He knew that the children liked to explore the tower, but there was no way any of them could have stumbled upon this place. He was the one that made sure that it was hidden within the tower with only a select few knowing that it even existed.

"You see, I'm playing hide and seek," Sana looked down at her feet. "I didn't know any good hiding place, so I followed a bird."

The three adults looked at each other with baffled expressions, who in their right mind would follow a bird and how did the animal get inside the tower?

"Right," Kassim muttered, still in disbelief. "Hassan, why don't you show the little lady out?"

The man nodded and gestured for Sana to follow him, which she did reluctantly. A loud knocking from the door where Claire was made Sana stop in her tracks. The little girl had a small frown on her face, as if trying to remember something.

Kassim inwardly cursed as Sana's eyes sparkled in realisation. Of all the children who had to stumble upon them, it had to be the one person who knew their hostage.

"Sana! Help!"

"Claire?" the little girl wondered aloud.

Kassim's eyes darkened. He gestured for Zainab to take care of the noisy problem, she gave a nod and waltzt over to the door, grabbing the keys on her way. Kassim took a long drag from his cigar and looked at the tiny child being ushered out by Hassan. He ignored the sound of skin meeting skin and the gasp of pain from behind him, prefering to watch Sana flinch.

"You didn't see anything."

The little girl nodded and left the room as fast as possible.

* * *

><p>Red, white and black.<p>

That's all I can see. I was alone and the gentle hissing of the wind surrounded me.

Glowing feathers were falling down softly, like snow on a beautiful winter day. I looked at my feet and realised that I was barefoot and walking around in a knee length dress. I was standing on the water which reflected several slowly spinning globes around me. I frowned, no matter how hard I tried, I wasn't able to recognise any continents, I wasn't able to see my reflection either.

I looked up above me and found a huge globe, far larger than the ones beneath me spinning at a snails pace. I recognised the continents instantly, after all a map of it hang on the walls of my classroom. There was something white circling the earth, but it was so far away I couldn't recognise what it was.

_Claire._

I turned around at the sound of my name and I see someone with long red hair approaching. I waited until the person arrived, but as seconds ticked by, they hadn't come any closer.

I narrowed my eyes. It feels like I've seen him before.

_Him?_

How did I know it's a male?

I just did.

_Claire._

A ball of light was floating in front of me.

_Take it._

I lifted my hand to touch the orb.

_No, don't do it._

I stopped at the command.

_Take it. _

_No._

I frowned.

_It is yours. _

_Don't listen to it._

What should I do?

_It is mine. _

The voices were starting to mingle with each other.

_Don't._

_It is ours._

"Claire!" I jolted awake at the sound of my name, looking around confusedly with bleary eyes. There was someone standing over with a candle in their hands and I scooted away from the person as I squinted at the brightness. I hadn't seen the light of a candle for a while now, and I've already gotten my food, so why was someone in my room? I didn't do anything lately to cause Kassim's ire, I learned my lesson the first two days that I was kept in captivity.

How long has it been since then? Three days? A week or two? It's hard to tell with no windows and my jailor visiting randomly to bring me stale bread and water.

Tiny hands clutched at my gray and incredibly filthy tanktop, making me relax instantly as I realised that it was a child in my room. The candle moved closer to the child's face, allowing me to see who it was.

It was Sana, the child who introduced me to Kassim, the child that saved me from getting lost in the streets the first time I wandered around Balbadd on my own. She tugged on my shirt and gestured to the door, one that I had not realised was opened until she pointed it out.

She was now my saviour from this hell hole too, but how did she manage to steal the keys from Kassim? Had the young man let his guard down because she was nothing but a small child?

Sana grasped my hand and pulled me up. I stumbled after her having not used my legs for quiet some time, because I was afraid that I'd step on something I'd rather not think about hidden in the darkness of the room. Like a shard of random glas or shit.

Sana closed the door carefully, making sure that it made not a single sound, and placed the key on a hook nearby. Did this mean that Kassim was so confident that I wouldn't be able to escape that he didn't bother to even bring the keys with him? He must really think that I'm helpless.

It was incredibly arrogant of him, even if it was true that I am a helpless teenaged girl.

I tried to think of something positive, which was a really easy thing to do, after all I'm finally free! All because of a brave little girl. I felt like such a child compared to her.

Sana stopped suddenly and pressed herself against the wall, dragging me with her before she blew at the candle. She peered around the corner, her breath silent and controlled, compared to my slightly panicked one. It was as if she was used to hiding in the shadows, and now that I think about it, she probably was. She grew up in the slums after all, I'm sure that she had to steal a few things to survive another day. I shook my head, thinking about it made me sad.

I followed her example and glanced around the corner. There were three people walking towards us, two of them held a candle and I didn't need the light to shine on the person in the middle to know that it was Kassim. I pressed myself farther against the wall, wishing with all my might that it woud open and swallow Sana and I.

However, that didn't happen.

I held my breath as their steps began to get louder and louder just like my pounding heart. I can tell that Sana did the same and I tried not to think of what Kassim will do to the little girl should he find out that it was her that set me free.

I couldn't let Kassim hurt a little innocent girl, Sana shouldn't be punished because of me. Should I dash out and let them know that I wasn't in the room anymore? That would give Sana enough time to run and find a proper hiding place or even play the innocent card. She could always return to get me out as long as Kassim didn't suspect her of a thing.

Yes, it was the right decision.

I tried to move my feet, but I was stuck in place. I was too terrified to move. I didn't want to return to that room. The uncomfortable food and bed, the stink that clung in the air, but most of all the darkness. I didn't want to return to that darkness.

Never again.

The sound of footsteps slowly disappeared. Kassim and his two followers turned on another corner. Sana and I heaved a sigh of relief.

We continued on our way as silently as possible. I had hoped that Kassim would take his time until he reached the damned room, but alas an angry shout the stomping of footsteps forced Sana and I to hasten our pace.

A yell behind us made me flinch. I turned around and found the burly guy running towards us. In my panic, I lifted Sana up and ran as fast as possible. The little girl was pointing the at which ways I should turn to.

Sana let out a cry of triumph as she excitedly pointed at the door. I quickened my steps as I realised that it was most likely the exit. Finally, I'm out.

Freedom had never tasted so sweet and so bitter at the same time.

The moment I opened the door, I slammed face first on a wall. An invisible one.

"My," A voice behind me exclaimed. "You almost got away."

I turned around angrily to find a man with mismatched eyes giving me a wide toothy grin. I shivered as his dark eyes crinkled in delight, this guy was not normal. I pressed my back on the invinsible wall while I tried to hide Sana from view.

Kassim approached and shot me a glare.

The door closed.

* * *

><p>AN: Hi guys!<p>

Sorry for the long wait, I promised last time that I would start updating more since summer vacation is fast approaching. I just had a lot of things to do because of that.

But don't worry! I didn't get a writers block, to be honest, I was actually already writing the first few chapters for the sequel of this story. Weird, right? Am I the only one who does this?

Anyways, Claire finally accepted the fact that she's in a different world, thanks Judar.

To people who leave really nice reviews, favs and watch; Thank you!


	8. Core

Chapter 08: Core

* * *

><p>Honestly, he shouldn't have underestimated the little girl. Young as she might be, she's also jaded like the adults. Sana has been forced to grow up like the rest of the children because they lived in the slums. Sad as it was, it was a reality they couldn't control. But soon, there won't be any children that will suffer anymore.<p>

Change will come, no matter how bloody it will be.

He had some of his men shadow the child when she accidentally found out about their hiding place a few days ago, deep within the watch tower that housed all the members of the Fog Troupe. Even with all the people living there, no one should have known where the place was since the entrance wasn't even in the tower.

Kassim had thought that she would instantly head over to Claire's companions to tell them where she was. If that were to ever happen, the only thing that Kassim could do was drag his captive from the room and place her somewhere further away, where that damned King couldn't get his clutches on her until his benefactor came.

Sana proved to be a smart girl and most likely came to the same conclusion. So she had bowed her head and acted as if nothing happened. She most likely knew that she was being followed as well, instincts at growing up in a dangerous area had helped her an instinct that let her know if she was being stalked. She waited for the moment for the men he sent to let their guards down and slipped from their sight as soon as they did. Kassim had to applaud her, for he would have done the same thing had he been in the same situation.

"What are you planning to do with her?" the little girl asked as he dragged Claire away from the door. He didn't answer her questions, none of them did. He shot her a glare that told her to get away though.

Sana cowered slightly at his icy stare and he had to make sure that his resolve didn't waver. She was the same age as his little sister when she passed away, looking at Sana was too much of a reminder for him and seeing her flinch made him remember the times his drunken father tried to swing a fist at his sister. It was one of the several reasons why he didn't like hurting children.

Claire turned away from cowering beneath their benefactors mismatched eyes to shoot Sana an expression that begged for the little girl to get away and not get involved. The young girl hesitated before running away, Hassan moved to run after her, but a single raised hand stopped him.

The tapping of a wooden staff on stone floors brought everyones attention to their benefactor, the man who procured them the magic weapons that could control the mist. His name was Markkio and he was a very disturbing man, which was why he couldn't fault Claire for scooting as far away as possible, he himself was unsettled when he first met the man. His wide toothy grin that screamed of lies and torture did not help his image at all.

Normally, a different person came to handle with him, a guy only known to anyone associated with the Troupe as the Weapons Dealer. He was the one who first approached him and his band of thieves with the offer of magical weapons and a wish to destroy Balbadd's royalty.

The man in front of him, Markkio, was a spy that the Weapons Dealer planted in the royal court. He was the one that fed them the information of what the King of Balbadd had in store with its citizens; namely sell them as slaves in exchange for more money from the Kou Empire.

What a disgusting pig. He can't wait to push the guy away from the throne and give the people of Balbadd their freedom and peace.

The staff that Markkio held was pointed at the foreign girl who flinched at the sudden movement, but stared pointedly at the man. A bubble of light surrounded Claire, encasing her and levitating her above Markkio. She only looked shocked for a second before her face was encased in fear. She pounded at the bubble, screamed and kicked, but nothing she did even made a single scratch on her new prison.

Markkio chuckled at her efforts and tapped the bubble with his staff, lightning danced around within, a simple warning that stopped the girl and her futile efforts to escape along with her muffled screams for help. "Now, I believe it's time that I finish my end of the bargain," he told Kassim.

Kassim scoffed, "About time. I need my army before dawn and new weapons too."

Markkio grinned wider if that was even possible, "My apologies, but I cannot procure an army in such short notice," Kassim narrowed his eyes and was about to object when the man held up his hand to stop him. "However, I do believe I can give you power that will annihilate an entire army with a single blow."

The leader of the Fog Troupe tilted his head to the side and looked at the man with a sneer. This power he speak of was most likely made of magic. "I'm listening."

* * *

><p>After the creepy man returned from his lovely chat with Kassim, I was dragged away via a floating marble that trapped me in it. I can only guess that Kassim was not entirely pleased with what the guy and he had discussed earlier.<p>

It turns out that the exit lead to a deserted part of the city, the door was hidden well behind some ruins and what I believe to be crude grave stones.

I tried talking to the man to try and charm my way out of the bubble. After all, if I can walk, I'd have a better chance of kneeling him in the groin and running away. He didn't seem as scary as Kassim and his two companions, just creepy. Very creepy.

He knew how to do magic though, so that might prove a problem in my escape plan.

The man didn't bother to try to converse with me as I sputtered on about the weather, why his eyes were the way they were or why he would should shave or grow his mustache. After all, having a mustache makes a person look like a complete creep. It's a proven scientific fact.

However, he silenced me when he started to fly, without a broom stick! The marble I was in followed him up in the sky and I would have loved the view no matter if I was confined in this small space which made it awkward to sit or stand up.

After all, I remember the beautiful Balbadd when I first laid eyes on it with Morgiana, Aladin and a barely clothed Sinbad. The city was so beautiful with its simple stone structures, complex streets and alleyways, colourful clothing hanging from one building to the other, lively people at the bazaar shouting their wares and of course the vast blue ocean that put the Côte d'Azur to shame.

It's too bad I can't say the same thing anymore.

The buildings were splattered red, the clothing hanging on their rooftop was on fire, the people screaming around and attacking eachother or cowering to some place safe. Blood was everywhere and with the fire eating its way through the buildings, it painted the nearby ocean a sickly copper colour.

Balbadd was in absolute shambles.

I don't know what happened since I was gone, but it was definitely not a bloody mess when I got kidnapped.

"What's going on?!" I asked my captor, trying my best not to look at a person that was hit in the head by a bottle, only to see a man swing a sword at a lady trying to protect her child.

I tried to ignore my surrounding and the coiling in my stomach by closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. But it was no use. Even from this far away, up in the sky with the creepy man called Markkio, I could hear the agonised screams, loud and clear. I pressed my hands on my ears and tried my best not to barf.

This was a civil war. A full blown civil war. I glared at the man who dared to chuckle at the people's suffering. "They are merely showing their true colours as a barbaric folk not worthy of the divine fathers' blessing."

I honestly have no clue what he was talking about, but at least I knew now that he was part of an insane religious cult. The word _divine _was a huge hint.

He floated closer to the palace, the bubble I found myself in following him like a lost puppy. The sound of a voice so incredibly familiar forced me stop glaring at the mad man in front of me. Frantically, I searched for the person and found a girl running towards a small boy about to be culled by a burly man.

"Sana!" I yelled and pounded at the barrier. She didn't hear me. Hell, I highly doubt she even knew I was here. I watched with horror as she protected the young boy with her body, only to be stabbed to death, the sword going through her body and to the one she had tried to protect.

"No…" I didn't bother to hold back the tears in my eyes as I placed my hands on my lips to stiffle a gasp.

Why?!

Why was this happening?

She didn't deserve to die like that, nobody did. She was nothing but an innocent girl. A brave and smart girl, incredibly kind and so, _so _young.

Sana's supposed to be in school, giggling with kids her age, moan about homework and have fun with her life. The little girl did not deserve anything like this to happen to her.

Fate is such a cruel thing...

I punched the glass so hard I knew that the skin would bruise. If I wasn't trap here, Sana would be alive. I would have dragged her away from here, to somewhere safe, but it was too late. I'm nothing but a pathetic teenaged girl stranded in a strange world ruled by magic.

If only I had the strength and bravery that the girl had shown me. She was so selfless, trying to protect the little boy with her body.

Markkio ignored the chaos around us to shoot me one of his unnerving grins and a humm that sounded like approval.

I swallowed the lump in my throat as I stared at the man "Why are you going to the palace?" I asked to get my attention away from the carnage. I just want to curl up and be alone to cry on my own. I want my mama, papa and my older brother. I want my little brother to poke me and say that I was being a sissy with his teasing grin. I want Monique to drag me to the nearest fabric shop to gush about her newest obsession while picking out the clothe she would use for her cosplay.

I want everything to be normal again.

"Why, to watch the performance of the year," he said matter of factly but didn't say more.

I frowned and wiped the tears away from my face with shaky hands. So this was only a form of entertainment for him? All these blood, guts, tears and screams? I knew there were people who enjoyed those kind of violence in the cinema. People who amused themselves by watching horror movies like Saw and Piranha without batting an eyelash at the violence. I admit that I was one of those. However, now that I've seen it before me eyes, not in a cinema packed with people and the smell of popcorn lingering in the air, I can't fathom why I enjoyed such gruesome movies. I felt disgusted with myself.

To continue distracting myself, I asked more questions. "Why are you kidnapping me?"

Markkio didn't stop, but he did turn around to show me one of his insane grins once more. "You do not know what you are," he replied mysteriously. "I suppose it is not too farfetched to think that you were not sent by him, considering your confused state and… ability to fall so easily.."

"What do you mean?" Fall? Did he mean when I bumped into his stupid barrier and fell flat on my behind earlier?

He didn't bother to answer my question. "Do not worry, dearest Claire. All shall be unveiled once we return to her Highness."

* * *

><p>In a place hidden away from the rest of the world, a young lady lounged on a plush sofa and gazed at the adult pacing back and forth. It was funny to see the usually calm man lose his cool, but it's been almost more than a week and he was still trying to create a path on the floor with his shuffling feet. It was becoming incredibly boring.<p>

A shadow passed over the dim room and she turned her attention away from the guy on the verge of insanity, to the window showing the outside world. She watched as a great white shark attack a colony of fishes with boredom, her eyes trailing the bloody mess the predator left behind as it feasted while playing with a strand of her dark hair.

When she was young and first came here, the window that showed the ocean had fascinated and scared her. It was fascinating because she was able to watch the fishes continue with their daily lives and scary because the ocean was incredibly dark and had a lot of weird creatures hiding within. She was only able to see the animals if they were close to the hide out that the light of the barrier silhouetted their forms.

Once, when she asked the man who had taken her from the streets and taught her everything she knew, where exactly the place was, he had answered that they were inside the earth. Being the pessimistic street urchin that she was, she thought that he was making fun of her, but it turned out that they were indeed inside the earth.

He had shown her the main room, a place floating on top of the earth's very core. Technically, such a place shouldn't even exist, but it did. Blame it on magic. She never liked being in that room, even if it was the brightest place in the hide out. After all, who would like to see the magma underneath their feet? Not her. She would rather hang out in the darkest rooms.

She was always tense around the hideout, even if she grew up there. There was only one place where she felt safe and it was not her room.

Her favourite place had a small but deep pond in the middle of the room and lovely tropical flowers grew around it. She loved how the sunlight would reflect on the pond or how droplets of water would create ripples on it whenever it rained on the surface world. Too bad she wasn't allowed to be there until _that _time.

And that time came about a week ago. It was when she was supposed to fulfill her duties and head to the sister world and meet the Magis. But due to unexpected circumstances, a different person was taken in her stead. Not that she'd complain since she wasn't looking forward to the journey anyway.

The room has been locked by a powerful magic since then.

She turned her attention back to the man and wondered if he'll allow her to return back to the surface since her role has been stolen from her and she was technically useless now. As she gazed at his expression, she decided that she'd ask once he's stopped looking like he'd rip someone into tiny pieces before throwing them to the earth's hot core.

He suddenly stopped in his pacing and she watched as he turned around and headed to the glass window that seperated them from the ocean, his long hair flowing dramatically after him like a cape. She vaguely remembered a character from a book she read when she was young, a teacher with greasy hair and a flair for dramatically turning around before walking away from the protagonist. She was a little amused with the comparison her mind created since the character and the man before her had a lot in common.

"This is no time to be giggling, Meira!" the man snapped, on the verge of growling like a hungry wolf.

Meira gave a coy smile in return and kept silent. The man grumbled beneath his breath about stupid apprentices as he tapped the glass with a finger. The world rippled and the scenery changed. Instead of showing the dark waters with its odd predators, it showed a burning town and people slaughtering each other.

The man groaned and searched for the stupid girl who ruined the ceremony. He hoped beyond hope that she was dead, but the fate and destiny decided that they'll keep the girl safe and sound. His eye twitched and he was incredibly tempted to smash his head on the glass wall. Of course she had to get herself kidnapped by that stupid organization.

"Wow, she almost lasted for ten days before she got captured. I'm impressed."

He growled. "Now is not the time for your sarcasm, Meira."

The girl fidgeted in her seat to get a better view of the carnage. "But I wasn't being sarcastic, Nate. She came to that world unprepared, I'm honestly surprised that she hasn't died on her first day."

The man called Nate sighed. "True," he agreed with a slight nod, turning to the youg lady he had trained for over ten years. "I hope that she dies now before it manifests within her. That way, when she dies, you will be able to take your rightful place."

Meira grinned at him. "Wow, I didn't know that you were the kind of person who plotted someone's murder."

"I'm not plotting."

"I'm pretty sure you were thinking about a hundred ways to kill her without living the hideout, being the shut-in that you are."

Nate let out a long suffering sigh. How in the name of King Solomon did the sweet little girl he raised grow up to be so annoying? He turned around and shot her a glare as she bore her little finger into her nose. Honestly, where did his polite little girl go? "You know that should she die now without awakening, we won't have to wait until the next time the barriers break long enough to create a gateway before mending itself?" The barriers were starting to get weaker and if the girl doesn't die before awakening, Meira won't be able to travel to that world. Only one Maverick was allowed after all.

"Hmm, yeah. I think you might want to turn around and see what the little troublemaker is doing," Meira drawled as she flicked the ball of snot away.

Nate whirled around and felt his eye twitch.

"Fuck."

* * *

><p>AN:<p>

Another update, yay!

Sorry for the late update, was on vacation last month :)

So anyways, two new OC's are introduced! Also, I know that the weapons dealer was the one who handled with Kassim, but I thought Markkio was a lot creepier than the guy, which is why he's the one who picked up Claire.

And thanks to whitenostalgia for the criticism.

You were asking about Claire's personality. To the people who doesn't know her well, like the cast right now, she's a polite girl who doesn't talk much. Remember that she can't speak their language. However, she has her moments of rebelliousness like everybody else. She isn't timid, but she is insecure about some things. She doesn't like to show her insecurities to random strangers though.

I admit that Claire tries too hard to find the logic in whatever is happening around her, to the point where her conclusions are not logical anymore. The only reason she actually believes she's in a different dimension now is because Judar attacked her directly. In the previous chapters, she just watched the weird things happen, but Judar actually caused her pain and made her bleed, giving her a grand wake up call.

And yes, Claire right now is only an audience. She doesn't have much of a role since she can't do anything. But as you see in this chapter, she wasn't even the person who was supposed to be there.

The tiny monologues of Claire about hair and things that seem to be unimportant were supposed to portray her character better. Claire, being jealous of hair and peoples looks was supposed to show how vain and materialistic she could be.

My story is supposed to be a scattered mess because the protagonist literally has no idea what the fuck is going on, but the story will become clearer once the story progress.


	9. Rose Tea

Chapter 09: Rose Tea

* * *

><p>Ah. It's over for me, isn't it? Stranded in a different world where no one knew my language, trapped in a bubble created by a psycho and forced to watch as people slaughtered each other in a civil war.<p>

I'm surprised that I'm not laughin like a maniac.

How did I get myself into this mess?

I was just walking around, minding my own business until I got lost. How was I supposed to know I was in a different world when the only person I could communicate with was a ten year old kid with blue hair.

Sure I befriended some really nice people. I was really thankful that Aladin and Morgiana were the ones I found when I was searching for help. It could have been worse. It could have been that creep Markkio or Judar.

But now I'm trapped in a bubble with no way out. Markkio, upon arriving above the palace, floated to another masked man and freaking merged with him like peanut butter and marmalade. It was very freaky, but at least the end result of the merge made Markkio more tolerable to look at. He didn't look like a complete creep anymore. His eyes weren't mismatched and his grin wasn't as insane when he flashed it to me. Hell, I'd even say he's a good looking man, if he ditched the stupid mustache.

It's a scientific fact that no matter how good looking you are, with a mustache, you start to look like a creep, a child molestor or a killer.

Or all of those.

Hmmm. I wonder how Sinbad would look like with a mustache?

Speaking of Sinbad, where was that guy?

My eyes wandered to the front gates where the palace guards were crowding around a person with bright blond hair, next to him was a very familiar red head. My throat tightened and I could feel hope rise in the pit of my stomach. It was Alibaba and Morgiana, the main characters of a fictional world called "Magi" that wasn't as fictional as it once was.

Since they were the heroes, the main characters, wouldn't they be able to help me? I'm pretty sure that Markkio was one of the villians in this place. I refuse to believe him to be an anti-hero.

I tried to find Aladin, who was usually next to Morgiana or Alibaba, but no luck. He was no where to be found. I frowned in worry. It couldn't be that he was killed, right? He can't die! He's one of the protagonists! This isn't a story written by _George R.R. Martin_!

Biting my lower lips, I pressed myself against the glass bubble and searched harder. How hard is it to find blue hair in a sea of black, white and brown? Harder than it sounds like, if the person was tiny like Aladin. I did find Sinbad. He was talking with someone who appeared to be an important person. Masrur and Ja'far was no where to be found either.

It can't be that the three died, right?

Before I could delve into the idea of Aladin, Masrur and Ja'far possibly being dead, the palace gates exploded. It surprised me enough to distract me from my thoughts and sent several of the guards to surround Alibaba, to protect him from the debris that was caused by the destruction.

The dust slowly settled itself and everybody tensed. The civilians will most likely storm through the gates and slaughter everyone. The palace guards can only defend themselves, because they were ordered to not harm the citizens of Balbadd, will have to try their best in keeping the royal family out of harms way while staying alive.

Markkio let out a sudden chuckle, making the hair on my skin stand on end. I did not want to know what amused him enough to let out a laugh, but curiousity got the better of me and I found my eyes following his line of sight. What I saw made my breath hitch and fear settle within me. It was Kassim and his posies.

I can't forget what awful things he's done to me. Locking me up in a stinky dark room and beating me was not something I can easily forget or forgive. "Why is Kassim here?" I asked the only person within my vicinity.

"To start a revolution of course," Markkio answered in a tone that made me feel like a little child.

Kassim and Alibaba talked and talked and talked some more. I like that. No violence, no blood, no- okay they started shouting.

Kassim pointed his weird sword-gountlet-thing at Alibaba and attacked. The palace guards were about to intercept but I think Alibaba told them to stay away. Alibaba, the flink guy that he was, was able to dodge Kassim easily. But it didn't take long for Kassim to make Alibaba bleed. The blond can't dodge forever and I think he also came to the same conclusion because he started to retaliate.

He and Kassim exchanged blows after blows until Kassim had enough and decided to use his mist. It didn't work on Alibaba who turned his dagger into a long dark sword and expelled the mist using flames that came from his weapon. Kassim stepped back and allowed one of his comrades to attack Alibaba with a golden mist. Alibaba however, didn't wait for the guy to finish his technique. One slash from his weapon was all it took to destroy the swords that Kassim and his companions possesed.

I let out a sigh of relief once the palace guards took action and pinned down the Fog Troupe using their spears. The criminals were lying on the ground with two guards on each of their sides, the spears dangerously close to their heads to keep the Fog Troupe from retaliating. Everything was finally becoming peaceful, until Kassim decided to go Kamikaze and stabbed himself in the gut with what remained of his sword.

What happened next made my sweat run cold. The fragments of all the weapons the Troupe possesed began floating and pierced Kassim as if he was a pin cushion.

Even from my vantage point, I could see that he was smiling as he coughed out blood.

Everyone else was terrified.

I gasped as his body began to mutate, turning dark like charcoal and breaking every single bone in his body. He arched his back in an unnatural way and let out a piercing scream that made me scoot away from my prison in shock.

Black birds began to gather around him, surrounding him until he turned into a horrifying monster.

Now, I was not a religious person. I never was and I never will be. Science has always ruled in my mind. My family wasn't very religious either. If one were to count how many times we've went to church this year, then the answer would be _once_.

But at the moment, I can't help but mutter the prayer I was taught in church. My lips were quivering in fear at the sight in front of me. It was a black devil slaughtering several people. The devil that Kassim had transformed into.

The monster was tall, almost reaching the second floor windows of the palace we were floating above. He was dark as the night with a third eye on his forehead and razor sharp teeth spitting out saliva everytime he roared. Attached on his arms were leathery wings similar to a bat's and he was flying easily and throwing around energy balls, killing and maiming several people hit with it.

I closed my eyes and pressed my hands on my ears to tune out the screams. I don't want to hear them anymore! I don't want to see any more blood!

Markkio chuckled at me and sent a jolt of electicity to the ball. I jerked out of my position and stared at him with trembling lips. "Now, don't turn your eyes away at the wonderful sight. It's not every day you get to see a black Djinn in action. Enjoy it," He ordered with his freaky smile.

I didn't obey and went back to ignoring my surroundings to the best of my abilities.

Markkio clicked his tongue and sent another shock of energy. I think he was starting to get annoyed with me since this one was a lot longer and more powerful than the previous ones. I let out a scream for him to stop.

Thankfully, he did and I was panting to catch my breath.

A yell made me turn my attention back to the battle field to see Morgiana jumping around, dodging the attacks while carrying several soldiers to safety.

She settled the men in a corner and I guess she was trying to calm them down because she turned her back on the monster for a few seconds. Those two seconds would prove fatal because there was a ball of energy headed her way.

I yelled for her to get away, but she wasn't able to hear me even with her sharp hearing. She'll get killed if that hits her!

"DODGE MORGIANA!" I yelled with all my might. She's fast, she'd be able to get away with a single leap with her strong legs, and yet she was standing there, her hands in front of her to take the brunt of the attack.

Why was she doing that?! My eyes wandered over to the soldiers behind her and realisation dawned on me. Since she was a Fanalis, she probably thought that her body was more sturdy and can handle the energy ball.

But she didn't know that! She didn't know if she would be turned to ash or just get a large bruise if that attack hit her head on! Was she risking her life on a chance that she can survive to save those people she _didn't even know?_

I don't want to see any more deaths. I don't want to see another innocent girl killed!

Please, to whom ever God is willing to listen to me, please _save her!_

_**As you wish.**_

A shiver went down my spine at the sound of the voice. It wasn't the same one telling me to protect the Magis. This one sounded older, wiser and more masculine, but at the same time, it sounded like me.

Odd. How very, very odd.

I wanted to turn my head as the attack reached Morgiana, but for some unknown reason, my eyes wouldn't close, wouldn't move. I couldn't turn away. And thank God I didn't, because a golden glass ball protected the red head from the attack. I sighed in relief while Markkio hummed thoughtfully.

"Impossible," He muttered in disbelief. Hearing my sigh made him direct his attention to me. "I wonder…"

"What?" I snapped nervously while scratching my right wrist.

He let out a huge grin. "It was you wasn't it?"

"What is?"

"You created that borg to protect the girl. My I haven't seen anyone make a borg so strong since _she_ passed away."

I shook my head in confusion. "I honestly don't know what you're talking about."

"Well, considering the fact that the girl is a Fanalis and Fanalis simply does not have enough magoi to create a borg, let alone one so strong, and the only other people who are able to create them are the Magis, who are not here, and myself, then the only other conclusion is _you,_" he narrowed his eyes. "So tell me, what is it that you did and how did you achieve it? You did not posses a borg when you were hit to protect yourself, which is the reason why I assumed you to be powerless. Yet here you are, creating a borg as powerful as that _person_."

"Listen here, buddy. I don't know what you're talking about! I'm just a normal teenager trapped in this God forsaken world! I have no magical powers!"

"This world has not been forsaken by God."

I shook my head. Is he going to start a religious rant now? I hope not. "You're crazy."

He tapped my prison and sent another jolt of lightning before he turned his attention back to Kassim's destruction, the grin never leaving his face.

I panted. My throat was sore and I really want some ice cold water to calm myself. But what I wanted the most was my freedom. I don't want to be anywhere close to this guy. I want to get away from him.

_**You have the power.**_

It was that voice again.

_**You have the power.**_

I have the power? What power? And am I going crazy? I have a voice in my head telling me that _I've got the power_. Next thing I know the song will get stuck in my head. Ah, yes the tune of the music is starting to play in my head. "_Focus Claire."_ this is no time to think about silly songs from the 90s.

This is serious business. Since I'm literally in a fantasy world where magic reigns and long hair is totally in fashion, how far fetched would it be that I'd develop some magic to protect myself? There is a voice in my head too and that voice is definitely not my conscience.

_**Use it.**_

How?

_**You'll know.**_

I frowned. This voice was very vague. It did prove itself to be helpful though. It was able to protect Morgiana for me, and now it's telling me that I can break free of this prison. The problem was, I don't know how. It's not like I can punch through it. I've tried and never suceeded. I need to do something different.

I can hear Alibaba screaming and I watched as Sinbad jumped up high and landed on the Monster's right shoulders. He was doing something that made it cry out in pain. Sinbad grunted as he was impaled. His blood was everywhere, but he didn't loosen his hold on the thing.

_**Close your eyes.**_

I did as I was told gladly and felt myself calm. My heart beat settled and it almost felt like I was about to fall asleep after a tiring day. However, the sudden pull from my belly button, as if I was falling from a high altitude, made me open my eyes.

I screamed.

Because it wasn't just a feeling, I really was falling. I tilted my head up to see Markkio clutching his shoulder and glaring at me with such wonder, it was as if he won the lottery.

The floor was coming closer and I braced myself for the impact. A lot of help that will do since I was falling from a place about six stories high or even higher.

But hey, a girl can hope.

As I was praying for God to send me another miracle, an angel came and swept me off the air.

Literally.

Not the angel part, since they don't exist. But at that time, Morgiana was like an angel to me. A knight in shining armor. A protector of man kind. Wonder Woman or Super Girl!

She smiled and settled me down on the floor. I tried to stand, but my legs didn't want to stop shaking and I fell to my knees. I took a deep breath. Morgiana worriedly placed a hand on my shoulder.

My lips trembled as I tried to supress a cry. I didn't want to show weakness now.

I suceeded, but at the same time, I did not. What came out was a full blown laughter instead. I clutched my stomach as I tried to stiffle my giggles. Morgiana raised an eyebrow, she probably thought that I'm deranged now.

Great going Claire.

But I can't help it. I was kidnapped, watched people die and survived a free fall thanks to a petite red headed girl. I'm hearing voices in my head and there's a monster raging not one meter away from me.

And somehow, I'm _still alive_. How can I not laugh at that?

Morgiana carried me to where Alibaba and Sinbad were trying to strategize while the soldiers got the monsters attention. Sinbad shot me a grimace that was most likely supposed to be a smile. I gave a shaky one in return as Morgiana let me stand. Alibaba glanced my way and gave a nod before turning to the red headed girl to discuss his plans.

After only a few seconds and frustrated shouting, Morgiana agreed to do whatever crazy plan Alibaba has in store. I wanted to stop Morgiana from walking away, wanted her to stay beside me. I felt like a child not wanting to share their safety blanket.

In the end, I stayed with a wounded Sinbad and watched as the petite girl threw Alibaba in the air, his sword glazing with fire and aimed at Kassim. I knew that the blond had put all his strength into that attack, and I was hopeful that it will succeed in slaying the monster Kassim had become. However, I let my hopes rise too high because it was dashed in the second Judar decided to make an appearance.

The monster batted Alibaba in mid-air like a fly, he would have crashed into the palace walls and destroy his bones had Morgiana not caught him on time to soften his fall.

Judar laughed and Sinbad moved to usher me away. Instantly, the psychopath turned in our direction and I wished with all my heart that the earth would swallow me to hide me from his piercing red eyes. He smirked, shot Sinbad -who pushed me aside and thus, wasn't able to dodge- with ice, pinning him to the wall behind us.

He looked satisfied with his work if the crinkle in his eyes was anything to go by. I could only watch helplessly as he reverted his attention back to me. "Well, well, well," he began, a cocky smirk plastered on his face. "It seems you're still alive and relatively unharmed."

Pressing my lips together, I willed myself to run and hide. My body wouldn't comply, it was like his gaze kept me petrified on the spot. "You got a problem with that?" I tried to sound brave, but my voice wavered.

"It's not fair that you haven't got a single scratch on you, no?" he said as he looked around, surveying the surroundings and the fallen soldiers, completely ignoring th patches of my skin that were burned lightly because of Markkio's punishment or my overall battered appearance. "How about we remedy that?"

"I'd rather not."

"Too bad."

I didn't even have enough time to dodge and the icicles were already heading my way. I lifted my arms to try and shield myself, my life flashing before me.

_I don't want to die._

Monique with her crazy grin as she gushed over her newest favourite character, my mom with her stern smile and my dad patting me on the head. My older brother coming back from university to spend christmas with the family and teasing my little brother.

_I don't want to die._

My life was short and I still had a lot of things I wanted to do. I have to tell Monique that she's the sister I never had, thank my parents for taking care of me, my older brother for being there when I'm down and my little brother for making me laugh.

_I don't want to die._

"I WANT TO LIVE!"

A golden barrier appeared in front of me, like the one that saved Morgiana. I looked at my hands. I was the one who created that?

"What the hell," Judar muttered in annoyance before aiming another set of icicles my way. "Why do you have a borg?!"

The barrier didn't dissipate, but with each hit of the ice, it felt like a needle was being stabbed through my whole skin. My heart rate was starting to rise and my breathing hitched. I had to watch in horror as the thing that protected me from Judar shattered like glass, slowly falling to the ground before dissipating into thin air.

Judar smirked and sent one last attack, but Markkio stepped in, grabbing him on his wrist. "Do not kill the medium."

He glared and scoffed, pulling his arm away from the man who never stopped grinning. "Whatever," he said like a rebellious teenager to their parents. He turned his attention back to Kassim who was busy swatting Alibaba and Morgiana like flies while Judar was busy trying to kill me.

Markkio landed on the ground in front of me. He lifted his staff high in the air, as if to summon a great power, or another prison for me.

Afraid, I scooted away from him.

"Let's get back, shall we?"

Another explosion occured and a bright light blinded every one.

I opened my eyes once I deemed the light wont make me blind, to find a person standing in front of me. His long blue hair swayed in the wind and his piercing eyes gazed stubbornly at the psychotic man.

Markkio chuckled and stepped back, giving a mocking bow to Aladin. "Great Magi."

"Be gone and leave Claire alone," the young boy commanded.

"I'm afraid I cannot do that, she is an important person to Al Thamen after all."

"The Maverick has nothing to do with your organization, you know that."

"I cannot leave without her," Markkio raised his staff and summoned a water dragon to attack Aladin. The little boy didn't bat an eye as it slammed into his barrier. The masked man wasn't surprised. "As expected of a person beloved by the Rukh."

Aladin lifted his wooden staff, collecting a bright light similiar the one he made on his fight against Judar. He threw it at Markkio who created the same barrier. But his barrier was weaker and it shattered easily.

The young boy turned his attention to Sinbad and waved his staff at him. From it came a surge of heat that melted the ice which prevented the man from moving. He ran in our direction and faced Markkio with a sword he picked up on his way.

Aladin turned towards me and gave a sweet and innocent smile, reminding me that he was a ten years old kid. He crouched down to get to my eye level, I had fallen to my knees and I didn't realise it. "I'm going to make you sleep for a while."

I frowned, not sure why he was telling me that.

"There's someone you should meet," He touched my forehead with his forefinger and I watched with fascination as an eight pointed star pentagramm appeared on his forehead.

That was the last thing I saw before everything went black.

* * *

><p>When I opened my eyes, I was in a place with ankle deep water. The water was incredibly clear and cool, reflecting the dark sky filled with stars of every size. It was like I was in space.<p>

I took a step forward, and glowing white birds from the water flew up in the sky. I raised my eyebrows and followed them with my eyes. What I saw made me blink. High above me was the earth with several glowing pillars of light shining from it like a funky disco ball.

One of the lights passed by and I felt an incredible warmth wash through me. The spot light stopped at a small round table with a vase of roses and two chairs. On one of the chairs sat a man with his red hair draped over his shoulder, sipping his tea calmly. He looked up, feeling my gaze, and smiled, gesturing to the empty seat across from him.

I walked towards him, confused since I was pretty sure he wasn't there a few seconds ago. I took a seat and admired the beautiful roses.

"Tea?" he offered. He didn't wait for an answer and was already pouring my cup with the liquid. "Try it, the leaves are freshly picked from my garden."

Taking a sip, I tried not to spit it out. It was incredibly bitter. I coughed instead.

"Is it not to your taste, Claire?"

"It's a bit too bitter for me." I said with a forced smile. How did the man know my name? I haven't introduced myself yet.

He returned my smile and gestured to the sugar cubes to the side. I'm pretty sure they weren't there a few seconds ago. "Am I dreaming?" I wondered out loud while putting three cubes in the tea, mixing it before taking a sip. Now it tastes a lot better. I think I'm drinking jasmine tea right now.

"You are," the man answered. "but at the same time, you are not."

"That doesn't make any sense," I pointed out.

"What I'm trying to tell you is, your body is knocked out, but your spirit is having a conversation with me, in this realm outside of the physical plane."

"Okay... " I said. I'm not completely convinced with what he was telling me, but after what happened today, I'm welcoming this calm atmosphere with open arms. "May I know your name, mister? It's only fair, since you seem to know me."

"You may call me Nathan," he said after taking a sip of his tea. "I am what you could call a guardian of Alma Torran, and you are an accident."

I blinked at him. "Excuse me?"

"Claire, you're not supposed to be in that world."

"I know," I told him. "But I don't know how to get back home."

"You really desire to return to a place as rotten as your world?"

"My world is not rotten!" I almost yelled in anger. Who does this guy think he is saying that about my world, my _home_? "I admit that my world isn't perfect. There's a lot of warfare going on, a lot of hunger, crime and suffering, but what place is so perfect to have none of those?"

He leaned his head on his hands and smiled. "At least you're not blind to the corruption."

I snorted. "My mother and father deal with crime everyday, I know that the world isn't perfect."

"That's good, then there is still hope for you."

I furrowed my eyebrows, unsure of what he meant.

"Claire Hawkins," he began with as much authority in his voice as my mother telling me to clean my room. "You are now a Maverick. If you want to return to the place you call home, then you must fulfill your mission."

"One second, what exactly is a Maverick? Aladin called me that, but I don't know why."

He smiled. "A Maverick is a title given to the person who is from Alma Torran. Our world. They are neutral, not picking a side in whatever war the King Vessels wage with each other," He took a sip of his tea.

"Why do you call my world Alma Torran?"

"Because it _is _Alma Torran or at least a shadow of itself."

My confusion must have shown on my face, because he sighed.

"I'll tell you the short version of the story since we don't have much time," he gestured towards the earth above us. "Billions of years ago, that place was called Alma Torran. When I was young, it was a world ruled by magicians. King Solomon-"

"King Solomon? That's not possible. The bible-"

"History gets twisted through time," he cut me off rudely just as I had stopped him. "Now then, King Solomon had a rebel army to free the other species from the magic that made them insane, he succeeded in-"

"One second," he glared at me for interrupting him once again. "What do you mean magic that made the other species insane? On another note, magic? There's no magic in my world."

"Okay, you little annoying girl," he yelled, making me flinch. "I'm trying to be patient with you, explaining to you what the hell is going on, but _no _you just have to interrupt me every second sentence I say. Now shut up and listen! There were other species that was gifted wisdom like the humans, but they acted like beasts because of the magic the corrupted magicians of Alma Torran had done. King Solomon seeked to liberate them and created an army, one of his strongest front line fighter was Queen Sheba -and yes they were an item and was a very happy couple- Master Uraltugo Noi Nueph -you met him, he was the blue giant who was with Aladin- and a woman called Arba. They were the first Magis to exist, because they met Il Illah -I guess you can consider it God- but one of the Magis, Arba, betrayed Solomon and wished to destroy the peace he created, she had summoned the corrupted God Il Illah on Alma Torran and destroyed the world. Master Uraltugo Noi Nueph, was able to create a world for all the survivors to live in, but some of us decided to stay to keep Arba at bay and away from the peaceful world he created," he took a deep breath, panting from the rant.

I watched him with wide eyes, trying to process what he had just said.

"Anway, we don't have much time anymore," he said as he looked at me, no _through _me. "You are the Maverick by accident. The Maverick is the ones we send to the sister world to strengthen the barrier that keeps Al Thamen from setting their grubby foot on the world and destroying it like they did with Alma Torran. Listen, if you want to return back to your normal life, you must succeed in this mission!"

He grabbed my shoulders, but his hands went through. "What's the mission?!" I asked him, frantic.

"You'll know once you wake up. The wisdom of Solomon will guide you."

* * *

><p>Authors Note:<p>

OH SNAP

The Nathan you guys didn't like in the first chapter turned out to be one of the good guys!

lol

I actually wanted him to explain a lot more things to Claire, but decided against it because that would be too much. Where's the fun in Claire knowing everything?

Anyways, really sorry for not updating in a while. I got a writers block and started to procrastinate. You have no idea how many times I started this chapter before scrapping it because the beginning wasn't what I wanted it to be.

Also, special thanks to **SmileRen** for kicking me in the butt and urging me to write this chapter. Probably would have procrastinated longer if it weren't for her.

With this chapter, I officially close the Balbadd Arc.

Thanks to everyone who watched/faved and reviewed the story!


	10. Crumbling Barriers

Chapter 10: Crumbling Barrier

* * *

><p>I sighed and shifted at the veranda. Staring out at the rising sun, I've been awake for almost two hours, doing nothing but look out at the ocean surrounding the island Sindria and listening to some music. I still have some Evanescence songs saved on my phone from the short emo phase that plagued me when I was thirteen.<p>

What can I say, there's just something calming with Amy Lee's voice. And I'm feeling like an angsty pre-teen at this moment, can you blame me through? With everything that's happened, I'm surprised I haven't lashed out at some unfortunate soul.

Oh yes, I'm in Sindria right now, it's the island that Sinbad governs. I've been staying here for about a week already, doing nothing but mope around in the room I shared with Morgiana.

Well, it's almost my own room in the past few days. She's been staying out and sleeping in the jungle that surrounded the place most of the time. I'm not a hundred percent sure what she's doing there, but I'm not worried about her, some weird birds or random predator won't kill her anyway.

Plus, Masrur's with her.

They left three days ago, however before that, the red headed girl tried to explain to me what she was going to do with the man. She punched and kicked at the air, making me assume that she was planning to beat up Masrur at first, until my brain caught up with the thought and "_Of course not, how silly of you to think so, Claire. She's obviously going to train with him."_

I sighed again and went through some other songs. Amy Lee's voice was replaced by Lana Del Rey and I leaned back to stare at my phone battery. For some unfathomable reason, the battery didn't lessen and it's been more than a week since I last charged it.

I had to always charge it daily and technically, it should be dead right now. Not sure what happened to it, but I'm not complaining. Even if I can't make phone calls, send messages or surf the internet -God, how I missed the internet- I still have some built in games and other random apps to keep me entertained.

Some people say that social media is addictive, and I have to say that it's true. Like any addict, I had a backlash after a few days of not logging into any of my accounts. I can count the number of times I glared at some poor maid who entered the room to aqcuire my well being. They stopped asking after the third time.

I'd also find myself opening the apps to check Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr, even though I knew that the only thing awaiting me was a connection error, to check the internet or try again in a couple of minutes.

That was really frustrating.

It made me want to chuck the stupid thing out of the window, but I controlled my temper. Aside from my torn shorts and tank top, that was thrown away the moment I dressed myself into a new set of clothes, my phone was the only thing that connected me to my world.

I can't afford to lose it or break it. Thank goodness Samsung isn't as fragile as an iPhone.

Come to think of it, I have to thank Aladin for salvaging my phone from where ever he found it before they dragged me to Sindria. I was unconcious when we arrived to the island, waking up in the room I currently occupy.

I haven't set foot out of this room, using it as my last barrier to protect me from the new reality I'm trapped in.

But everytime Morgiana returned to smile at me and stay in my company in her own silent way, never asking questions, never letting the slight upward twitch of her lips slip from her face, her fiery red hair swaying in the breeze that came through the window as she sat beside me and we listened to music, it reminded me of the fact that this isn't where I belong.

It was like she was trying to tell me that this is all real. That the heat radiating from her is real, the smell of the sun, the wilderness and human sweat, it's all real. It felt as if she was pinching me to wake up and face the music.

The few visits that Aladin and Alibaba, -also suffering from their own depression- was like a slap to the face for me. I can pretend that I'm staying at a classy hotel in the carribean whenever I look out the window and gaze at the ocean, but seeing the main protagonists of the apparently fictional story try to cheer me up, when obviously, they're also suffering?

A slap and a kick.

When Aladin first visited as I woke up to hand over my phone, he was obviously depressed. He told me that he wished Alibaba would have agreed to come along, but the guy was too busy staring longingly into thin air. I told him that I didn't mind at all. I don't know Alibaba as well as Aladin and Morgiana, the blond and I only traded a few words with each other after all, even if I do know a little about him from the manga, it felt so superficial, like I was looking at their Facebook profile to get to know the person better. What type of music did he listen to? Did we share a fondness for certain TV shows or movies? Where did he go to school or did he gradutate already?

Facebook made getting to know a stranger a lot easier, but unless something truly clicked once you have spoken with the person, he's still a stranger. It's the same with Alibaba, I only know him from afar.

I'm only closer to Aladin because we actually can hold a conversation. If it weren't for that, I would have had a hard time befriending him. I've always had a hard time being with in the same room of people at least three years younger than I. Morgiana and I shared a love for music. Even if Morgiana didn't know the meaning of the lyrics, she liked to tap her feet to the upbeat sound of the drums and bass. She liked to listen to them silently though, since she has sensitive hearing.

I was able to accept Sinbad, Masrur and Ja'far a lot easier because I didn't get far into the storyline. I wonder what would happen now. Have I changed anything while I'm here?

The little blue haired boy explained to me what had happened while I was knocked out and having tea with Nathan. Kassim had died and Balbadd was in shambles, the reason why Alibaba Saluja, the third prince of Balbadd, was feeling depressed.

We had to flee as soon as possible because the Kou Empire was waiting to invade and slaughter the royal family to earn the cooperation of the citizens. Sinbad was sending messages to the Kou Emperor to come to an understanding regarding the royal family and Balbadd's future. It was the reason why he and Ja'far weren't able to visit when I woke up.

"Too much to do, so little time", he said.

According to Aladin, it didn't take Sinbad long to convince the Emperor to exile the royal family instead of having them killed. All three of them should be in Sindria, but Aladin wasn't sure where Alibaba's older brothers were.

As for me, I didn't care what happened to Balbadd or its royalties.

Aladin realised that and tried to switch the subject. When he noticed that I simply had no interest in anything, he left with a sad smile. He knew that I also need my time alone to wrap my mind around the fact that I was in a different world and burdened with a mission I had no clue about.

"_Solomon's wisdom will guide you" _my ass. What a load of bullocks. Where's that fucking guide Nathan was talking about. I want to finish this stupid quest and get back to my own world.

I sighed again and went through my phone's gallery. I've been doing this every morning. It's starting to become a habit. I never went through them all, just a few scrolls before I'll close the phone.

It was too painful.

Seeing my family and friends always made me want to cry, because it felt like I will never be able to see them anymore.

But this time, I went down farther and found a video I don't remember recording. I played it and watched as the screen moved to show Monique, my best friend since she moved to Britain from France.

Behind her were a bunch of luggages and strewn clothes. I can tell from the peach coloured walls and baby pink duvet of the bed that it was my room. She must have gotten her hands on my phone when I left to help my mother with what she should wear in Jerusalem.

"Hey there girl!" she announced cheerfully, her accent showing slightly. "I'm not sure if you'll see this video, since you rarely go through your phone gallery, but if you do, then great! I'm shooting this vid as a reminder that you better return my Magi mangas back in one piece!" She paused and stiffled a giggle. "_One piece", _she muttered with an infectious grin.

She cleared her throat. "You better have read it when you come back from your vacation too! No cheating like last time." I thought back to the last time she lent me a manga. I don't remember the title, but I do remember that there's a character who wears a large amount of green. I read the wikipedia article of the story just to satisfy Monique.

It didn't work because she started grilling me for information. When she realised that I knew more than I should have… well it wasn't hard to figure out that she was mad. She literally spammed my social media accounts with images, quotes and videos of that story. Also she kept inviting me to play those games. The ones called Candy Crush and Farmville. I was never fond of those games and she knew that.

Monique pointed her finger at the camera and gave a large grin. "I expect you to beg me for the other volumes of the manga because it's a-ma-zing and we can fangirl together and you can be the Morgiana to my Alibaba on the next convention! It's going to be great! I've already sewn the costume for you! You're gon' be so cute! Oh! Or maybe we can both go as Sinbad and Ja'far!" She giggled and I can tell that she was thinking about something inappropriate. "They're such a cute ship I cannot even-"

"Monique?"

The camera shifted to show my little brother standing at the doorway with a raised eyebrow. "Sweet cheeks! What's up?" My best friend replied.

Dave didn't answer for a few seconds. He narrowed his eyes before closing the door very slowly. He didn't like Monique very much, always thought that she was a weirdo and a bad influence on me. "She's gonna turn you into a _fujoshi,_" he would often tell me. He never eleborated on what that word was.

They sometimes get along swimmingly once they find out the other was watching an anime that they love or reading a manga they were also a fan of, but then someone would mention "otp" and they'll start arguing about things I didn't understand. Listening to them sprout nonsense like ships, canons and feels is like trying to follow a conversation in a different language.

To be honest, they might be arguing in a different language if the random Japanese words thrown every now and then indicated something. I usually zone out whenever the two would duke it out.

Anyway, Monique never told me what fujoshi meant, she just gave a huge secretive grin which made shivers run down my back. I refrained from googling it because of that smile.

"Humph. Rude lil' shit," Monique muttered. The camera moved and I can see her again. She pushed her dark hair away from her face and grinned. "Anyways, you better come back loving Magi! Peace out!"

I smiled and sniffled while I replayed the video. If it was Monique in my place, she'd be having the time of her life. She'd meet all of her favourite characters, know what the hell is going on and she'll do her best to help them. I highly doubt she'd mope around in the dark like me.

A knock on the door made me stiffen, and quickly I wiped the tears away and watched as a maid placed a tray of food at the coffee table. Like every morning since I was here, she'd put some fresh clothes at the foot of my bed before giving a smile, a bow and leaving.

I made sure that she didn't see my face as she entered. I could hear her moving around, used to me staring off into space to not be bothered by it any longer.

Sighing as she closed the door, I waited until her footsteps could not be heard any longer as she walked down the hallway. I got up from my position to put on the dress. She'd always leave a simple white one with bell like sleeves that reached my elbows, fresh underwear and brown flats that looked like the ones Ja'far wore.

For breakfast, I'd get fruits, nuts and a glass of water. Sometimes she'd bring bread and marmalade. Lunch was usually fish and vegetables while dinner was salad with some fruits and fish. Every two hours, the maid will return to pick up the food I barely touched and replace it with some small pastry and fruit juice.

After dinner the maid would lead me to the bathroom and leave a fresh set of pajamas there. That was the routine I found myself in, but instead of picking at the food, I scarfed down the weird fruits like I haven't eaten in a century.

Monique wouldn't like it if I returned as a skeleton. Gotta stay healthy! She said she had the costume done, I can't disappoint her if I return and can't fit into the cosplay she made. I gulped down the glass of water and stopped myself from crying.

I swear that I'll return home. I'll find a way even if it killed me. I'm going to that convention Monique loves so much, I'll tell her so many stories of her favourite characters.

I'll make sure to return with so many memories and stories for my best friend. She can use them for the fanfictions she's so fond of writing.

But first, I need to know how to speak with the characters.

* * *

><p>It didn't take me long to find Aladin. He was in his room, moping around like I did earlier. Alibaba was there too and he was staring at the ceiling with such dead eyes, it made me wonder if that was the same look I had on me in the past week.<p>

"Aladin," I said in the dark. The curtains were pulled shut in the room, only letting out a tiny bit of sunshine to enable me to see where the boy was sprawled at.

He lifted his head from the silk covered pillow and gave a strained smile. I walked over to him with a notebook and quill in my hands that had I found in my room.

"Hey Claire," he greeted. "Long time no see."

I fidgeted and sat beside him, smoothing the end of the dress to keep the crinkles at bay. "I need your help." I flipped the notebook open, gingerly going through the pages until I found an empty one. I don't think the Magi Universe has machines that binds their own books. The setting of the story was inspired by the 1001 Arabian Nights, that's what Monique told me, and that story in turn was around… sometime before the birth of Christ? I'm not sure.

Ugh, history.

But either way, I'll be gentle with their books here, they're most likely still bound by hand.

Upon his questioning stare, I elaborated. "Can you write your alphabet there? And how to pronounce them along with the alphabeth from my world?"

"You want to learn how to read?" was his delighted reply.

I merely nodded.

It took us the whole day to create the alphabeths and sounds. We moved away from the room he shared with Alibaba to give the blond boy some peace and quiet and ended up in one of the palace gardens. There weren't many flowers planted, but the bushes and shrubs were immaculately cut into perfect spheres.

At around noon, Ja'far found us sitting at the benches. Aladin explained that I wanted to learn the language and the white haired man offered to help teach me to read and write whenever he can. I tried to protest, because he's the King's advisor and I highly doubt he has a lot of free time considering who the _King_ is.

Don't get me wrong, Sinbad apparently gets shit done if he puts his mind into it, but from our short meeting in Balbadd, I knew that he can get distracted easily and remembering our first meeting, I also knew he liked to drink until he's so drunk he passed out in the middle of no where and didn't wake up when he was being robbed of everything he owned besides his earrings.

But Ja'far waved off my concern and told Aladin that it'll be a nice break from the boring official paper work. Plus, he's always wanted to try teaching someone. His gaze went to the sky, as if remembering a memory from long ago. His smile was soft and serene, but incredibly sad at the same time.

Ja'far snapped out of his stupor after feeling two intense gazes on his person and started spouting lesson plans to hide his embaressment.

That was how I got into the schedule of meeting Aladin early in the morning to learn thirty phrases until lunch time. After lunch, Ja'far would meet me in the library to teach me how to read and write. He usually stays for an hour to explain what I should do before he'll leave to get back to his own work.

He'd stop by just before dinner and look through the work I did. He'll correct them and give them to me to analyse in the evening.

After almost a month, he made sure that I ate my meals in the cafeteria with the other guests and workers. I was supposed to strike some conversation with them instead of having my meals brought to me by maids. I didn't mind, it actually reminded me of high school.

It was comforting and terrifying at the same time.

At least they didn't have the typical high school cliques. I noticed that they're divided in three categories through. There were the sword wielding jocks, the nerdy scholars and of course, the populars.

At first I sat with the scholars. There, I met my life saviour Ahmira. She was incredibly patient with me, unlike her colleagues whose patience ran dry after a couple days of me blubbering like a fool and wasting their precious lunchtime with my struggling vocabulary. Clearly, they thought of me as a demented child.

Anyway, Ahmira was my life saviour because she was the only girl I knew -besides Morgiana who disappears and reappears every once in a while- whom I could ask to give me some things for… that time of the month.

Yes, I asked her how to deal with periods in this world. And no, I'd rather not elaborate.

I couldn't possibly ask _Ja'far_, much less Aladin.

And I barely saw any of the maids nowadays. Really, she was the only option.

Anyway, moving on.

After a week or two, I found myself sitting with the swordsmen and swordswomen of Sindria since Ahmira got herself sick and really, she's the only person I was comfortable with on the scholars table. I get along well with everyone, but it's always felt like being in a party you were invited at by your popular friend, and you don't know the other people _at all_.

Sitting with the jocks was really fun. They were all so friendly, lively and so _touchy_.

Like Italians.

They would randomly pull you closer to themselves as they regale of tales of adventures I only half understood. They taught me words Ja'far would never approve of and gave me tips on how to properly hold a sword and staff. It was embarassing to learn the word sex from them, because one of them literally began to moan _really loudly and dramatically, _making everyone in the cafeteria turn at the table with bemused horror, secondhand shame and shock, while another was thrusting his hips back and forth. I laughed so hard that the water I was drinking spurted out of my nose and to the pair of guys giving me the sex talk.

Yeah, I left that day with an incredibly red visage and hasn't shown my face in the cafeteria for a few days.

If it weren't for the fact that there were at least _50 _pair of eyes trained on our group, then I wouldn't have been so embarassed. They were the ones making a fool of themselves, not me. Okay, me too, but all I did was snort out some water out of my nose like a fountain.

I rotated to sit with the jocks, or as they call themselves "Soldiers and Guards of the Sindrian Kingdom" and the scholars "also known as Ja'far's bitches". That's what my soldier friend Rohwen said, not me.

Honestly, I think he has something against them. It didn't take me long to figure out that he actually wanted to be one of Ja'fars officials instead of a guard. He just wasn't smart enough to get into any of the position. Plus his hand writing was worse than mine, and that's saying something since chicken scratch looks better than my own attempt of their alphabet. Rohwen literally had a field day when he saw how bad my hand writing was.

Aladin told me that I was getting better through, since he's barely getting any headache when he looks at what I wrote.

One day while I was minding my own business and trying to figure out where I'd sit, someone took my hand and dragged me to the table with the popular people.

That person was a petite blonde girl who cheerfully chatted my ears off. "You're Ja'fars student right, right, right!?"

I nodded my head and was forced to sit down at the table. I was a bit uncomfortable. From what I observed, she was the Queen Bee of the cafeteria. The Regina George of the hypothetical Sindrian Highschool royalty. She's really popular with guys, through it seems to me that a lot of the women aren't fond of her. She's also the only girl who sat at the popular table.

There were usually two guys who sat with her. One with dark skin and hair as white as freshly fallen snow and the other has fiery red hair that reminded me of Morgiana and Masrur. Through the red of his hair has more of a brown tint to it than the Fanalis's. Sometimes, a beautiful lady with light blue hair would sit with them, but I've only seen her a handful of times and she usually stayed only for a few minutes to bicker with the white haired guy until she picked up her food and head off to who knows where.

As soon as I saw the odd coloured hair and funky hairstyles, I knew that they were somehow connected to the story. I've watched enough anime with Monique to know that the more ridiculuous the hair, the more impact they have to the storyline.

At first I dismissed the little blond girl because her hair wasn't weird enough, but then I saw her eyes. When I looked in her eyes as she dragged me, I realised that they weren't black or brown like I thought, but _pink_. Her pupils were incredibly large, as if she was high and the edges of her iris were so dark, it shadowed the rosy colours. No wonder I thought they were black.

The guy with white hair raised an eyebrow and leaned forward, the golden chain attached to his ear, wrapped around his neck and connected to his belt, glinted in the light. Weird accessory. "Who's this?"

The blonde girl grinned as she made introductions. "This is Ja'fars student, Kler! I'm Pisti," she pointed at herself. "This is Sharrkan and Spartos."

Sharrkan was the white haired guy who gave me a large grin. Spartos was the silent red head nodding at the introduction.

What is with this place and silent red heads? Morgiana rarely talks and when she does, she's so incredibly soft spoken. I've never even heard Masrur speak since we came here. Granted, I rarely saw him, and when I do, it was usually to pick up Morgiana from our shared room.

"Hello. Nice to meet you, my name is _Claire_." I emphasized my name since Pisti didn't get the pronounciation correctly.

It was alright, I didn't mind. There were some people who struggled with my name while other's can say it perfectly. This was a sentence I've repeated _a lot _which is why I can say it perfectly.

"How's it like being taught by Ja'far?" Sharrkan asked while he scooped up some more food on his plate.

"It is nice," I answered slowly, while looking at the food set in front of us. There were fruits, fish, some red cold soup and bread. I picked the fruits and mystery soup. Even if I can tolerate eating fish nowadays, it doesn't mean that I like it. It's hard not to get used to the taste since they literally use fish in every single meal. Not surprising, since this is an island after all. "Learn lots."

"Of course, that old man is such a **...**, I bet he doesn't even allow you to go for toilet breaks."

"You shouldn't speak about someone behind their back, Sharrkan," the familiar voice said behind me. I turned around to see Ja'far looming over me like an overprotective dog. I did not hear him approach at all. He turned his eyes to me and smiled. "And Claire, it's 'I learned a lot'."

I nodded. Seeing him in the cafeteria was odd. I've never seen him step foot in this place. He's always had his meals in his office or while teaching me.

"Technically, I wasn't talking behind your back. You're in front of me right now, after all," Sharrkan, who sat across from me, said. He shot me a bemused wink and I tried not to blush.

No matter how flashily he dressed himself with his white off-shoulder tunic, it's no denying that he's one good looking fellow. And damn, those biceps are gorgeous.

Ah, damn hormones.

"It's rare for you to stop by, Ja'far!" Pisti exclaimed with a large smile.

"I'm here on official business," the white haired man said. "Spartos, Sharrkan, the King awaits you after lunch." The two shared a look, while Pisti pouted.

"Is Sin sending them on a **...**?" the girl asked while I munched on the fruit.

I watched the interaction with curious eyes. Pisti knew Sinbad well enough to use a nickname I've only ever heard Ja'far say.

"Afraid so. They'll be accompanying him on his trip to Kou," Ja'far said, before giving everyone a smile and walking out of the room. Wow, Sharrkan and Spartos must be really important if they were to accompany a King to a different country.

"Huh," Pisti pouted, watching the white haired man's back. "That means I'll be alone for a while."

"**... **is still here."

"She's locked herself in her … trying to figure out a new **...**," the little girl said pointedly.

"**... **kids?"

"His children are still out at sea and won't be back for a few more weeks."

"What about the new guests?" That was the first time Spartos spoke and he shifted uncomfortably as the two turned their eyes on him. "They should be around your age," he trailed off, staring pointedly in my direction.

I put the glas of water down gingerly and gulped the liquid hard as everyone's attention shifted again.

Pisti's eyes brightened, showing the shockingly pink colours, and took my hands. "Do you like to go shopping?!"

I nodded dumbly at her, unable to do anything as she beamed, jumping on the balls of her feet and shooed the guys away. "You and I, are going to be best friends."

* * *

><p>Three hours.<p>

Pisti dragged me around the market place for three hours. She pointed out jewelry from places called Sasan, the latest fashion from Reim, food from the Imuchak. It was a lively place that reminded me of a christmas market without the lights, snow or the cold.

We weren't even done with the tour and my feet were already hurting me. I'm wearing sandals and not high heels! Usually, I can go on shopping for the whole day with good footwear. I'm not sure if it's because the roads were uneven compared to the smooth cement of my home world or if it's because I haven't had a good exercise since I came here.

If Pisti had her way, the tour would have been far longer than three measly hours. As it was, Ja'far was in the town and noticed my tired expression and Pisti's hyper one. He took pity on me and dragged me away from the girl, telling her that I still have duties to finish and a special lesson to learn.

Of course I didn't argue about the duties. I was supposed to head to the library after lunch to sort some scrolls and read some new books. Pisti had asked Ja'far what my lesson for today was and asked if she could come along. Ja'far had muttered a word I haven't learned yet with a serene smile on his face.

The blonde girl screwed up her face like she's smelled something nasty. She said her goodbye in a heart beat, but not before sending me a pitying look.

I thanked Ja'far and was on my way back to the palace to start archiving the thousands of books and scrolls that Sinbad picked up during his travels. Turns out the Sinbad was a bit of a book worm, he even wrote and published his own stories! I desperately wanted to read them, but so far I hadn't found a single copy of it in the library.

You would think that they'd have one there somewhere considering who wrote the story, but no, there isn't one at all.

Ja'far stopped me by placing his hands on my shoulders. "Where do you think you're going?"

It turns out that he wasn't kidding when he said he wanted me to learn something new. That lesson I had to learn?

It was midwifery.

Who would have thought that Ja'far was a midwife? I certainly didn't.

I stood uselessly by the side, clutching cloths in my arms as I _stared_ at all the blood. Holy mother of God, that was a lot of blood.

Ja'far encouraged the pregnant woman to push while she cursed her husband's existence while crushing his fingers on her death grip. The man, a tall guy with long black hair tied in a pony tail, begged his wife to please calm down and forgive him. He didn't know that it would cause her this much pain.

I thank the heavens that I didn't have to touch the blood or the wrinkly and alien looking babe as it came out. I only had to pat the sweat off Ja'far or the new mother.

I do believe that this experience traumatised me for life. It's one thing to watch a person give birth it on screen, it's different when you have to live through it and smell the blood, sweat and frustrated tears for the infant to "Fucking get out," as the woman yelled.

So yeah, no children for me.

* * *

><p>AN: Hello people! Sorry I haven't updated for a while (again) but I promised myself that I will post a new chapter on Christmas!<p>

I actually had 3000 words of this chapter written in october, but I wasn't satisfied with it. I probably rewrote this five times.

Anyway, the … is Claire not knowing the words. It's already been about two to three months she's in Sindria and she's starting to get the hang of the language. Speaking and hearing comes easier for her, but reading and writing is a lot harder because there's a new alphabet she had to remember.

It's actually possible to learn a language if you study it instensely and you're surrounded by people who speak it daily. Believe me, it took me a year to learn German and that's because I studies it daily.

So here you have it! Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it and happy holidays and new year to everyone!

P.S. Has anyone ever noticed that Claire mentions her little brother in all the chapters (except one) but never his name?


	11. Knowledge

Chapter 11: Knowledge

Trigger warning! Skip "/" if you don't like to read about an assault.

* * *

><p>I hummed a nursery rhyme Ja'far had taught me as I walked down the corridors towards the library.<p>

Hanging out with Pisti was fun, she literally dragged me all over the palace and the nearby market place. I had a hard time following what she's saying, since she tend to speak fast, but I picked up a few words.

She introduced me to her pet bird, which was larger than an ostrich, and her prefered mount whose name I forgot again. It was a lovely bird and incredibly sweet as long as Pisti was nearby. Without her, the bird becomes a monster. I saw it once try to peck the eyeballs out of some poor stable boy as I passed by to deliver a message for Ja'far.

Pisti invited me to ride on her bird some time, but ever since seeing the boy's frightened face and terrified screech for the bird to stop trying to eat him, I had been avoiding answering her question. She's stopped asking after a while, which was a huge relief.

She taught me how to barter when we went down to the market place. Thanks to her, I have a lovely bronze butterfly hairclip pulling back my long bangs away from my eyes. It wasn't exactly the cheapest thing in the market, but she helped me haggle.

As for where I got the money from…

It's from Ja'far.

I started helping him sort the library in my spare time. I thought it's a good idea for me to learn new words and get more acquainted with the alphabet, which he agreed whole heartedly. It wasn't until three weeks ago that he started paying me though.

I had refused him profusely. They were already letting me live in the palace, gave me clothes, food and and education, but in the end, I gave in.

My older brother once compared my stubborness to a wire fence. It's easy to break through with a good argument. And if my stubborness can be compared with a wire fence, Ja'far's would be a wall. A great big wall. The wall of China. Sinbad is probably the only person who can change the white haired man's mind. So I'll compare the king to a wrecking ball.

You can say that Sinbad came in like a wrecking ball whenever he tried to persuade Ja'far to do something.

Aladin was the one who convinced me to take the cash. "Do you wish to stay here forever?" the young boy had asked in English.

"Of course not."

"Then you'll need money if you want to survive the outside world."

That was a really good argument on his part. A really, really good one. It seems that even in a fantasy world like Magi, money still rules the world.

I told Ja'far that I won't accept the payment if I hadn't earned it and he agreed to let me work as his personal messenger. I ran around carrying papers and scrolls, went to do random errands and sometimes, Ja'far would bring me with him to greet some noble or dignitary waiting to meet Sinbad, who was still somewhere in the Kou Empire.

Those gatherings were incredibly nerve wracking, but they usually ignored me whenever he had to meet them. All I had to do was stand there and look pretty, pour in some tea every now and then before giving the sweetest smile I could muster.

I adjusted the uniform I wore. Everyone in the palace, besides the soldiers and guards, wore them. It's the beige and green robes that Ja'far _always_ wears. I've never seen the guy in any casual clothes. Does he even own casual clothes?

Mine's a bit different thanks to Pisti. It's a lot shorter than the standard and barely reached my knees. When I asked her if it was alright to be customising the clothes -because really, wasn't the point of uniforms supposed to be make you look the same as everyone else- she told me, "The colours and colars are what's important. You can wear and customise it in anyway you want as long as those stays the same."

Usually, people don't bother with changing the clothes because it costs too much. The blonde girl decided to get mine tailored before I found out about it. She even payed for it!

I swore to her that I'll pay her back, but she just shook her head and gave me an impish grin. "Being one of the Eight Generals of Sindria has it's perks, you know," she winked.

I opened the library and stepped inside. I placed the messenger bag I've been dragging around with me everyday, on a nearby table but froze as soon as I caught a glimpse of the library.

It was in total chaos. There were books and scrolls strewn everywhere, and for a moment, I saw red. I've been cleaning up and organizing this place for months, I left this place immaculately clean yesterday and now I return to chaos.

I knew it can't be any of the regulars who would dare to make a mess in here. They've seen me chew out some poor soldier searching for a book and accidentally made a clutter of everything.

Everyone knew that if you're not going to return the books or scrolls or whatever you borrowed in the correct place, you'll be in for a world of pain. If they thought that I wouldn't know, oh, they are so wrong. I'll know since no book will leave or enter this place without them being registered and catalogued.

I've convinced Ja'far to hire some more librarians since they only had a few before, which is why the place was in total disarray when I arrived. Ja'far confided that it hasn't always been like this.

However, after Sinbad had no more room left to store his private book collection in, the guy started to dump them in the library. At first everyone was delighted, because come on, you can read and borrow the private collection of the king, how cool is that? But then other people started leaving their own collections in the library, and since then, it's been a total mess.

There were only a few librarians who had the nerve to tell civil servants off, and they usually lost their job really fast. Which is why I was a blessing in disguise, because everyone knew that if they mess with me, they mess with Ja'far.

And no one wants to mess with Ja'far. Not even Sinbad.

It made me feel mortified that people would think that Ja'far was so over-protective of me. I don't want people to treat me differently. It's almost the same as back home. My classmates tend to walk on egg shells around me, because they're afraid of my parents.

My father was the chief of the police and mother was a judge.

Yeah, no one ever offered me drugs in high school.

When I asked Ahmira why people thought that Ja'far would be angry if someone decided to be a little shit head to me, she answered with "You're basically his apprentice," and left it at that. As if that explained everything.

But she explained to me that Ja'far tend to baby youngsters, which is why he's acting like a new mother, unsure what to do but coddle the children. Right, that didn't make me feel any better.

I jumped in surprised as the pile of books and scrolls on the floor shifted and a blond head poked out. "Ow…"

It took me a long time until my brain registered that I knew that voice. "Alibaba?" I asked while slowly approaching him.

"Claire! Hey," he looked up and laughed nervously, embarassed to be seen in such a position. "Long time no see."

"Indeed," I dead panned. I think the last time I've seen him, he was moping around in his room. It was when I approached Aladin to teach me how to read. "What are you doing here? And were you the one who made a mess here?"

He looked at me with wonder, as if he's never seen me before. "Wow, Aladin wasn't joking when he said that you learned the language in such a short time! You're really smart."

I straightened and looked away, my anger momentarily forgotten. Monique always told me that I have a hard time accepting compliments. And that I have a bad habit of straightening my clothes whenever I'm flustered. Which I am doing now. Damn it.

He stood up and dusted his clothes, wincing slightly as he patted his back. "Something wrong?" I asked.

"Uh nah, everything's fine." He hissed as he rubbed the back of his skull, looking at his hand with shock.

Gasping, I grabbed his hand and stared with wide eyes. "You're bleeding!" Before he even realised it, I was dragging him to the nearest chair. "Stay here," I ordered.

I quickly went behind the counter and reached for the first aid kit. There were several bandages there because the band aid hasn't been invented yet. And if you're wondering why a library would even have a first aid kit, well, we had to treat paper-cut with _something_. No one wants to read anything with blood smears on it.

I went behind Alibaba and examined his head. The wound was shallow, which was a relief. I wouldn't know what to do with a deep wound. I'd probably have to run and find the nearest person to call the medic, who was most likely having lunch, so the they had to run to the other side of the palace while I try to make sure Alibaba stayed alive.

I parted the blond hair and cleaned his wound as best as I could. It was weird to see him defeated by books, when only a few months ago, a black monster was throwing him all over the place. Was this the power of being the main character of a series?

Surviving monsters but getting killed by something simple as a fall? This made me wonder what ultimately killed the main characters of a story. Would it be the villain who was finally able to defeat the hero in an epic battle? No, sir. The one who killed the hero was a peanut. Didn't you know that the hero has a peanut allergy? Well, neither did he.

All this time I was tending to him, Alibaba hasn't said a word. I started talking to fill in the silence. I refrained from asking if he had a peanut allergy. Did they even have peanuts here? "So what brings you here?"

"Oh, uhhh…" He tilted his head slightly as I began to bandage him. "I heard that the latest 'Adventure of Sinbad' scroll has been released and thought that they might have a copy in the library. I don't have enough money to buy it at the market place and I really want to read it. But so far, no luck."

I hummed and tied the bandages, dragging a chair to sit in front of him as I examined the palms of his hand. There were several scratches on his right hand and his wrist looks like it's slowly turning blue. I poked it and watched him wince. "Can you move your hand?"

He gave it a little slow twist, his face set in a grimace.

Well, at least it's not broken.

I cleaned the wound and searched for an ointment in the kit. "Well, you're out of luck. For some reason, there's not a single copy of the scroll in here."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

He looked down like a kicked puppy and whimpered like one too as I gently applied the ointment. I sighed, "You know what, I'll ask some people here if they own it and borrow it for you, is that alright?"

"You'll really do that?"

I shrugged "It's not like it's a big deal."

I tied the bandage and looked at my work. It's not bad, I've had a ton of practice bandaging my brothers wrists. My big brother was a basketball player and sprained his wrists a couple of times before he stopped playing because he didn't want to hurt his hand anymore. Aiming to be an artist changed his perspective on things. Like his hand, which became such a valuable body part for him, he would have insured it for thousands of pounds if it weren't for mother telling him not to be a dumbass. Dave was the goalie of his school's football team and he has the tendency to hurt more than his wrist trying to catch the ball. Like his nose.

I stood up and went to pick up the mess he created when he fell down from the ladder to reach a book from a higher shelf.

And when I say high, I meant high. The shelves in this place is as high as a three story house and Ja'far mentioned that they might add more to it. These people are crazy, it's like they're trying to recreate the library of Alexandria.

"I'll help you with that."

I looked behind me to see Alibaba standing up from his seat and holding the first aid kit on his good hand. "It's fine, I can do it on my own."

"No, I'll help. It's my fault that it's a mess."

"You're hurt," I pointed out.

He lifted the first aid kit with a grin, "Well, good thing I have another hand, right?" He started picking up the books and scrolls before I could even comment. I shrugged and went on with it.

"So, are you a fan of 'The Adventures of Sinbad'?" he asked as a conversation starter.

"I've never read it before," I looked up at the sudden silence and saw Alibaba freeze in his task. I was instantly reminded of Monique when I somehow, in someway, slighted her. "Uhhh, but I've wanted to read it when I heard of it. They just didn't have it in the library…"

There was a glint in his eyes that, once again, reminded me of Monique before she starts to sprout about whatever obsession she currently fancies. "I have the first scroll with me, if you want you can read it." Alibaba's enthusiasm was very much like my friends'. They're so alike at the moment, it's kind of scary. I bet that if Alibaba was as animated as Monique, he'll be threatening me until I decide to agree.

"Sure," was my simple reply.

"Great! I'll bring it over tomorrow."

I nodded and grinned. "It's a date then." I watched in amusement as his head became as red as a tomato and he turned his back to me. He crouched and rocked back and forth, mumbling about something or another.

This… is kind of creepy.

I cautiously approached him. I hope that he didn't hit his head _that _hard to the point that he became crazy. This close to him, I can understand what he's whispering about. "Finally, a date. See Kassim, I don't need your help to get a girlfriend."

Oh dear, it seems like he took the joke seriously. "Uhh…"

He stood up quickly, startling me, and grinned. "Yes, it's a date then."

His good mood and bright smile was contagious, I couldn't bring myself to tell him that I was kidding. Who would even agree to have a library date? I don't think bookworms would even like that. Anyway, a single date didn't mean that we're a pair.

* * *

><p>Pisti almost choked on her drink as I told her about my oncoming rendezvous. "Oh, my goodness! A date in the librury. That is so <em>cute<em>,"

I rolled my eyes as she started to guffaw once more. "It's really not that funny…"

"It's no wonder that he's in such a good mood when I saw him! You need to officilly introduce me to him. As your newest best friend, I demand to know the boy you'll be dating." That's right, Pisti hasn't met Alibaba yet. She knew of him, like everyone else who's part of the great gossip ladder, but she didn't _know_ him.

Being a banished prince seeking refuge in Sindria isn't special. Pisti told me that there are a lot of royalties living in the tiny island, but seeing as Alibaba is a Dungeon Conqueror, more people payed attention to him.

"Pisti, you sound like my mother." I drank a sip of my favourite drink in Sindria. It tastes a lot like Pina Colada, except there isn't much alcohol in it. God bless Sinbad for making the legal age to drink certain alcohol fourteen. I'm not allowed to drink the strong stuff like Pisti yet.

And yes, Pisti is in fact older than me. Imagine my surprise when she told me that. I thought for sure that she was at around the same age as Aladin.

"Oh phshhttt. You can't lie to me. I kno you think it's arobalble? Aroboblel. Arbodoral?"

I smirked at her. "You mean 'adorable'?"

"Yeaaaah! Thas te word!"

I shook my head at her and glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. It says that it's almost midnight. I stood up and placed the money I owed, "I got to go now, Pisti."

"Awwwww really?" She clung to my arm and gave me her puppy dog eyes. "Can't you tell Ja'far to stop bein a worrywart? He's like a motherhen. Tell him you're not his doghter! That way we can hang out looooonnnngerrrrrrrr."

I gently pried myself off from her and smiled. "You know I have to wake up early tomorrow. I have to deliver his messages before the ship to Reim sails at the crack of dawn." Me having a bed time didn't have anything to do with Ja'far. I created it myself so that I can work to the fullest in the morning.

She pouted but let go, shifting her attention to a handsome young man sitting across from her.

I smiled fondly and went out, waving at some people who worked at the bar Pisti and I frequented. Once I was out of the lively establishment,I took a deep breath and glanced at the sky full of stars.

It's quiet incredible how welcoming this place has been once I was able to understand the language to some degree. It felt like I lived here forever. Like I grew up in this wonderful island filled with kind people. That I've been friends with Pisti for eternity. It felt like my previous life is slowly slipping away from me. Like my parents, siblings and friends have been nothing but a dream. London wasn't real, England never existed and the Earth with all it's amazing technology was nothing but a figment of my imagination.

I fingered my cellphone in the pocket of my dress. The cold touch of metal reminded me that my previous life on Earth is real. The pictures inside the phone aren't fake. I'm Claire Hawkins, daughter of Benedict "Benny" Hawkins and Elena Hawkins, half sister of Jonathan "Jay" Martin, older sister of David Hawkins and best friend of Monique Cisse.

I'm real and they're real.

A huge hand grasped my arm and dragged me to a dark alley. My body moved on its own accord and I punched the person behind me in the gut, only to wince because the guy was wearing armor.

/

The man reeking of alcohol threw me further into the alley and chuckled. I winced as my knees scraped on the floor. I stood up craddling the hand I used to defend myself with, slowly inching further and further until my back hit a brick wall. "Let's have some fun, missy," he slurred.

I looked to the right and left, trying to find somewhere to run, but so far, the only way out of this situation is straight ahead. I'm trapped like an animal in a slaughter house.

What do I do?

What do I do?

What do I do?!

Mother never taught me how to defend myself against someone wearing armor! I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. "Not gonna cry and beg for mercy? That's fine too."

Before I knew it, he was clutching my face and giving a forceful kiss. Half my dress was ripped and barely hanging on my shoulder and I was struggling to get out of his grasp.

He pulled back to take a breath and I saw my chance. I kicked his left knee as hard as I could. The result was music to my ears. His bone snapped and he yowled in pain. I think he was expecting me to kick him in the nuts because he moved his hand to cover his middle. So me breaking his knee was a surprise to him.

But the fact that he was expecting me to hurt his family jewels meant that this wasn't the first time he tried to assault some poor girl.

I didn't have time to admire the bone sticking out of his leg or the blood gushing out as I made a run for it, only for the guy to grab a hold of my hair and slam me at the wall. "You little … sucking bitch! You'll pay for that!"

He smashed my head again and again until I could feel blood running down my face and getting to my half lidded eyes. He let go and like a rag doll, I slid down the wall.

"Some one, please help..." I murmured.

The man scoffed and balanced himself on one leg to take off his pants.

/

This feeling of fear that's overcoming me reminded me of Balbadd. Of the black devil destroying everything and everyone. Of Morgiana protecting people she didn't know and Alibaba trying his hardest to save his friends. Of Aladin coming to the rescue and a voice whispering in my ears, only this one's worse. Because no one will come to my rescue.

Morgiana isn't here to catch me. Sinbad was in a different land. The hero of the story was happily going through his luggage, excited for his date and the young child Aladin was already asleep.

Who can help me now? Who can protect me? Ja'far? Pisti? Who?

Who can help me?

_Come child. Embrace me and I shall protect you for all eternity._

That voice sounded really familiar. Like an old friend holding my hand, my father's protective embrace and my mother's warm smile.

Yes, I'd like that.

_Come._

I could feel power going through me. It was cold and hot at the same time. Like alcohol and honey sliding down my lungs.

I heard someone scream and the sound of glass shattering. "What's going on here?!"

A womans voice.

Laughter.

Hissing.

Darkness.

* * *

><p>She sighed as she finished healing the girls' wounds. She woke her up as soon as possible to test if the younger girl had a concussion. Luckily, she didn't, which is why the brunette was resting peacefully in the hospital ward.<p>

She knew the girl. She knew that she was Ja'far's unoficcial apprentice/assistant. He won't be happy when he found out what happened to her. He's always been a bit of a motherhen.

"Where is she?"

"Right on time," she thought. She didn't say a word as the pale man saw the young girl and headed straight to her. She could tell that he was analysing the damage in his own way and she waited for him to finish.

"What happened to her, Yamuraiha?"

The witch of Sindria and one of the Eight Generals shifted on her feet and explained. "I think that she was about to get raped."

That froze the man. A fire she rarely saw nowadays ignited in his eyes and she shivered at the thought of whoever decided to get on his bad side. "Where is he," Ja'far didn't scream, only spoke in a low voice. Dangerous and deadly, that's what he is.

Yamuraiha calmly gave him a jar full of dust. The white haired man looked at it in confusion. "Why are you handing me this?"

"That's him," she answered with a light shrug. "He got incinerated when I got there. I wasn't harmed thanks to my borg."

"What?"

"You heard me. That girl over there did some really powerful heat magic and turned him to dust," Yamuraiha saw the conflicted look the white haired man shot the young girl and she could hear the gears in his head turning. "Don't worry, she won't be a danger to Sindria, the Eight Generals or anyone with a high amount of Magoi. Unless she got her power controlled."

Ja'far sat at the chair beside the bed and leaned his head on his hands. "Sinbad told me that she performed magic in Balbadd. She was casting borgs at the soldiers and protecting Morgiana from the attack of the Black Djinn."

Yamuraiha straigthened at the mention of magic and frowned as his words sank in. "But you have to be a really powerful magician to perform a borg for others."

"Yes, and as far as Sinbad could tell, her borgs were erratic and wasn't perfectly balanced like those of a trained magicians. Sin could tell easily where to strike to destroy the borg completely."

Yamuraiha hummed in thought. "Usually, a well balanced borg is a sign of mastery. Since she obviously has no idea what she was doing... is it possible that she never had magical training before?"

Ja'far shrugged. "I never had the time to ask her," at Yamuraiha's lifted eyebrows, the man added, "Well, I can't just ask her if she ever had any magical education before. She didn't even know how to speak our language when she first came here."

"I guess you're right, but raw talent such as this would be a waste not to polish, no?"

Ja'far sat back and watched the magician through half lidded eyes, trying to find out what was going through her head. "You're planning to teach her magic?"

Yamuraiha smirked and lifted her staff. "She's obviously not of this world. No matter how far south she says she lives in this world, there's no way that she cannot know of the language we speak."

The four children who came to Sindria months ago was the talk of the island. There was a banished prince, a Fanalis, a girl who didn't know of their language because she lived really far away and of course the Magi. Yamuraiha was excited to meet the Magi, but her experiments and potions made her too busy to even search for him.

"That's what Sin said."

"Oh, the king knows?"

Ja'far shrugged. "You know that no matter how much he tries to hide it, Sin is incredibly shrewd."

Yamuraiha smiled. "Indeed."

* * *

><p>AN: Hi guys!<p>

Sorry for the late update! Work has been crazy this past few months! I was planning to post this chapter on the first anniversary of this fic, but alas I tend to pass out once I'm home.

But now that the brochures has been printed and the event on it's way, I can finally take a deep breath and rest!

I didn't want to put the warning for the assault at the beginning of the chapter, because it'll spoil it, but it's better safe than sorry. I don't want anyone to feel hurt by that.

Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter! And yessssss Yamuraiha is introduced!


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